Young Justice: Project X
by Dragon Force Ranger
Summary: Instead of Superboy, Robin, Kid Flash and Aqualad find something else, Project X aka Red X. Created with power not even he wants, X and his new friends must work together. OC/Multi. Please Read and Review. M for a reason. Bad at summaries, story is better. Updates will be slow coming.
1. Chapter 1: Forming the Team

_**Author's Note**__**: I got the idea for this story after read the Naruto/Young Justice crossover called Project Maelstrom by Namikaze09. I'm replacing Superboy with my own character but he may make an appearance later in the story.**_

**Young Justice**

**Chapter 1: Forming the Team**

_**Gotham City,**_

It was a beautiful day and a number of families were enjoying a picnic in the park until Mr. Freeze arrived and started firing his freeze cannon at people. He stood on a large bolder looking down at a family of three. "Enjoying family time?" He asked before freezing the family. "Unfortunately, my family has other plans." He then walked away and took aim at the crowd of people that were attempting to run away from him. Before he could fire however, a Batarang kit his cannon, causing him to lose his balance. "Batman, I was wondering when…" He turned to face the Dark Knight only to find no one there.

Laughter then filled the air as Freeze looked around. A shadow then appeared from above as Robin, the Boy Wonder, landed on top of the villain, causing the ice user to fall over. Robin then threw some wing-dings at Freeze which cracked the glass dome over his head. "Oh, boy wonder…" Mr. Freeze said in annoyance. "The Bat sent you to drag me off to prison. Quite frankly, I'm underwhelmed."

"Great but I'm kinda in a hurry." Robin said impatiently as Freeze aimed his cannon at him.

"Kids…always in such a rush…" Mr. Freeze commented. "I prefer to preserve these moments… forever."

"Not talking to you." Robin told Freeze who immediately realized what Robin meant and turned around just in time to see Batman coming down on top of him. Batman punched through the glass and hit Freeze square in the face.

_**Meanwhile, in Star City,**_

Icicle landed on the bridge over the river, created a wall of ice and laughing as the cars around him started to crash. Icicle had blue ice covered skin and white hair and could fire ice from his hands. Arrows suddenly lodged themselves into Icicle's ice wall and his left shoulder. The one in his shoulder exploded causing Icicle to fall into his barrier just as the arrows in the ice wall exploded. He shook his head and looked to see Green Arrow and Speedy standing up on top of the bridge, pointed the arrows at him. "Finally, I was wondering what a guy had to do to get a little attention around here." Icicle said as his arms began to grow in increased size. He then threw shards of ice at the two archers.

"Junior's doing this for attention?" Speedy asked as he and Green Arrow shot their arrows at the incoming projectiles. The arrows destroyed some but not all of the shards forcing the two archers to move and go went to the support area. They ran down it shooting arrows at Icicle as he tried to hit them with his ice shards. "I'm telling you now this little distraction had better not interfere." Speedy said impatiently.

Icicle formed a wall of ice in front of him to block two arrows. The arrows exploded, causing a hole to form but Icicle used the hole to shot ice shards at Speedy. Speedy leapt into the air and did a summersault. Mid-summersault he pulled out an arrow and as he finished the loop he fired it at Icicle. Icicle had no time to react and the arrow hit him square in the jaw, knocking him out cold.

Green Arrow chuckled. "Kid had a glass jaw." He commented as Speedy landed next to him.

"Hilarious. Can we go?" Speedy asked impatiently. "Today's the day."

_**At that moment at Pearl Harbor,**_

At the Naval Yard, two of the ships had been frozen over and the sailors on board were also frozen. Fortunately, Aquaman was on the scene and he had the new Aqualad with him. The new Aqualad was fifteen years old, had dark skin, extremely short blond hair, blue eyes and was wearing black boots, pants and a red sleeveless shirt with black tattoos running down and around his arms. He also had a small pack on his back that held two handle like devices over his shoulder. The two were confronting the one responsible for the strange weather: Killer Frost. Aquaman leapt forward only to be blasted by Killer Frost's ice blasts that came from her hands. He was trapped but the new Aqualad leapt over him and charged forward.

Aquaman was easily able to break free from his icy prison. "Don't tell me you're not excited." He commented as he continued forward.

"Right now, my king, I am focused on the matter at hand." Aqualad replied as he dodged Killer Frost's ice blast. He leapt into the air and pulled the weapon handles from off his back along with some water that was stored there as the tattoos on his arms started to glow. The water-bearers formed the water into maces, one for each of the handles.

Killer Frost froze the maces of water but that didn't stop Aqualad as he landed right in front of her. He used the frozen block of ice to clobber Killer Frost in the jaw, breaking the ice and knocking her out at the same time. His tattoos then stopped glowing as he put the handles back on the pack. Aquaman smiled at his partner's good work. "Well?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes, I'm excited." Aqualad said with a smile. "Today is the day."

_**Meanwhile, in Central City,**_

Captain Cold had just robed a jewelry store only to find himself being circled by the Flash (Barry Allan) and his nephew Kid Flash (Wally West). Cold was firing his freezing gun at the two circling speedsters but kept missing since they were moving too fast. "Stealing ice, seriously, isn't that a little cliché even for Captain Cold?" Flash asked sarcastically.

"Come on we do not have time for this." Kid Flash stated as he pulled his goggles over his eyes. He then broke from his circling and ran straight at Captain Cold.

Cold pointed his gun at Impulse and fired it but young speedster was able to dodge the attack and took the Freeze Gun right from Cold's grip. Cold was stunned for a second and that was all the Flash needed to punch him in the side of his face. The force of the punch knocked Cold out cold. "Calm down, kid." Flash stated.

"Oh please!" Kid Flash complained. "You'll chat up with the cops, the bystanders, Cold even. No! No way!" He then smiled excitedly. "Today's the day!"

_**Two hours later, at Washington DC,**_

Robin, Batman, Aqualad, Aquaman, Green Arrow and Speedy all stood in front of the Hall of Justice. "Today's the day." Batman said as he patted Robin on the shoulder.

"Welcome to the Hall of Justice…" Green Arrow started.

"…headquarters of the Justice League." Aquaman finished.

"Aw man!" Kid Flash moaned as he and Flash arrived. "I knew we'd be the last ones here." He complained.

The eight heroes made their way towards the entrance of the Hall of Justice as the crowd around them buzzed excitedly. "Is that Batman?" A man asked.

"I see Flash and Flash Jr." A woman said excitedly.

"I think his names Speedy." A man commented.

"Uh, no Speedy is Green Arrow's sidekick." Another male replied.

"That makes no sense." A fourth person said.

"Ready to see the inner sanctum?" Green Arrow asked Speedy.

Speedy smirked. "Born that way." He replied.

Aqualad looked around. "I'm glad we're all here." He said to his friends.

Kid Flash smiled excitedly. "Have all four sidekicks ever been in the same place at the same time?" He asked.

Speedy scowled at what Kid Flash said. "Don't call us sidekicks." He growled. "Not after today."

Kid Flash flinched a little. "Sorry." He apologized before grinning. "First time at the Hall, I'm a little overwhelmed."

Robin sighed. "You're overwhelmed, Freeze was underwhelmed, why isn't anyone just whelmed?" He asked before they entered the Hall and found the bronze statues of the seven founding members of the Justice League _(from left to right)_: Aquaman (King Orin), Flash (Barry Allen), Batman (Bruce Wayne), Superman (Clark Kent), Wonder Woman (Diana Prince), Green Lantern (Hal Jordan) and Martian Manhunter (J'onn J'onzz). "Oh, maybe that's why." Robin said in awe.

Underneath the center statue (Superman) was a large door that had the words **'Authorized Personnel Only'** on it. The group stopped in front of the door which soon opened to reveal the Martian Manhunter (J'onn J'onzz), and Red Tornado waiting for them. "Robin, Speedy, Aqualad, Kid Flash, welcome." J'onn said calmly. He then led them into the library as Robin and Kid Flash pounded fists. "You now have unlimited access to our gym, our fully stocked galley and of course our library." The library was filled with books and had a high-tech computer in it.

"Make yourselves at home." Flash said with a smile as he spread his arms out in a gesture to the room.

Aqualad, Kid Flash and Robin all sat down in the different sofas and comfy chairs but Speedy seemed upset about something. "Quick debrief to discuss the coincidence of four ice villains attacking on the same day." Batman told the younger heroes. "We shouldn't take long." He and the others then walked up to a door in the back of the library with **'Justice League Members Only'** on it that had a scanner over it.

The scanner then proceeded to scan each member that was present. "Recognize: Batman 02; Aquaman 06; Flash 04; Green Arrow 08; Martian Manhunter 07; Red Tornado 16." The robotic voice stated before opening the door once it had verified each member.

"That's it?" An angry Speedy asked. This got everyone's attention. "You promised us a real look inside, not a glorified backstage pass." He crossed his arms in front of his chest.

Aquaman was the first to recover. "It's a first step." He replied. "You've been granted access that few others get."

"Oh really?" Speedy retorted as he gestured to a glass window where tourists were standing and taking pictures of what was going on. "Who cares which side of the glass we're on?"

Green Arrow stepped forward to try to calm his partner down. "Roy, you just need to be patient." He said calmly.

"What I need is respect!" Speedy growled before turning to his friends who were surprised by Speedy's angry attitude. "They're treating us like kids… worse, like sidekicks! We deserve better than this!" He told them.

Aqualad, Robin and Kid Flash all looked at each other trying to get a clue about what Speedy was talking about before looking back at Speedy. "You're kidding, right?" He asked in surprise. "You're playing their game? Why? Because you think they play fair? Today was supposed to be thee day!" He emphasized his point by slamming the back of his right hand into his left palm. "Step one of become full-fledged members of the League!" Speedy argued.

The others looked at each other. "Well… sure, but I thought step one was a tour of the HQ." Kid Flash replied nervously.

"Except the hall isn't the League's real HQ!" Speedy informed his friends, shocking all three of them. "I bet they never told you that it was a false front to attract tourists and a pit stop for catching Zeta-Beam Teleporter Tubes to the real thing: an orbiting satellite called The Watchtower!"

This information shocked the three other young heroes while Green Arrow turned to face Batman who folded his arms in front of his chest, not at all pleased the Green Arrow had told Speedy that little secret. "I know, I know, but I thought maybe we could make an exception." Green Arrow explained with a nerve smile, hoping that Batman would agree.

Batman narrowed his eyes in response.

Green Arrow sighed in defeat. "Or not…"

Aquaman finally had enough and tried to calm things down. "You are not helping your cause here, son." He said sternly. "Stand down or…"

Aquaman didn't get to finish when Roy interrupted him. "Or what? You'll send me to my room?" He asked angrily. "And I'm not your son!" He then looked at Green Arrow. "I'm not even his! I thought I was his partner but…" He reached up to his hat. "Not anymore." He threw down his hat in disgust, no longer wanting anything to do with Green Arrow or the Justice League.

This action shocked the other three. Yeah, they were disappointed at not being filled in about everything but Speedy seemed to be taking this way too personally. Speedy then stormed out but not before looking at his friends. "I guess they're right about you three." He said as he walked past them and they jumped to their feet. "You're not ready." They all watched as Speedy left the room and the Hall of Justice all together.

Just then, the computer started beeping as a communication started coming in. Superman appeared on the screen. "Superman to Justice League." He said calmly but urgently. "There's been an explosion at Project Cadmus. It's on fire." He informed them.

The League members all walked over to the computer. "I've had my suspicions about Cadmus." Batman told the group. "This may present the perfect opportunity to-" he was interrupted as another communication came in.

Another person appeared on the computer screen in a smaller box. "Zatara to Justice League," the magician said urgently. "The Sorcerer Waton is using the Amulet of Atem to block out the sun. Requesting full League response!"

Batman looked at Superman. "Superman?" He asked.

"It's a small fire, local authorities have it under control." Superman replied.

Batman sighed internally. "Then Cadmus can wait." He said before pushing a button on the computer terminal. "All Leaguers rendezvous at Zatara's location. Batman out." He ordered.

Aqualad, Robin and Kid Flash all stepped up to the older heroes, excepting to be given orders for the mission. "Stay put." Batman told them, surprising them.

"What? Why?" Robin asked in surprise.

Aquaman and Flash joined Batman. "This is a League mission." Aquaman told them.

"You're not trained-" Flash started.

"Since when?" Kid Flash interrupted.

"I meant you're not trained to work as a part of this team." Flash continued, gesturing to the Justice League members.

"There will be other missions when you're ready." Aquaman assured them.

"But for not, stay put!" Batman ordered them.

"Glad you didn't bring you-know-who?" Green Arrow asked the Martian Manhunter with a whisper as the Justice League members started to leave.

"Indeed." J'onn stated. The Leaguers went through the other door that was for them only with Red Tornado being the last one before the door closed behind him.

Robin, Aqualad and Kid Flash could only stare at the closed door in disbelief for a few seconds before Kid Flash spoke up. "Tch, when we're ready?" He asked in annoyance. "How are we ever supposed to be ready when they treat us like… like… sidekicks?" He could barely say the last word.

"My mentor, my king, I thought he trusted me but now…" Aqualad said sadly.

"Trust?" Kid Flash asked. "They don't even trust us with the basics! They've got a secret HQ IN SPACE!" He exclaimed.

"What else aren't they telling us?" Aqualad wondered.

Robin sighed. "I have a better question, why didn't we leave with Speedy?" He asked the others but neither had an answer for him.

After a few moments of silence, something else got Aqualad's attention. "What is…Project Cadmus?" He asked Robin.

"I don't know." The Boy Wonder replied before grinning. "But I can find out." He then went over to the computer terminal and tried to pull up the Justice League information on Project Cadmus.

"Access denied." The computer said.

"Heh, wanna bet?" Robin asked before he began hacking into the Justice League computer.

"Whoa, how are you doing that?" Kid Flash asked in amazement.

"Same system as the Batcave." Robin replied with a grin as he finished hacking in.

"Access granted." The computer stated as all the information on Project Cadmus was pulled up on the screen.

"Alright, Project Cadmus, genetics lab here in DC." Robin read off. "That's all there is. But if Batman's suspicious maybe we should investigate?" He suggested to his friends.

"Solve their case before them?" Aqualad asked before grinning at the thought. "It would be poetic justice."

"Hey, they're all about justice." Robin chuckled with a grin.

Aqualad sighed. "But they told us to stay put."

"They only told us stay put for the blocking out the sun mission, not this." Robin argued.

"Wait." Kid Flash said. "A-Are you going to Cadmus, because if you're going, I'm going." He was excited about the possibility of having something interesting to do.

Robin and Kid Flash then turned and smiled at Aqualad. "Just like that, we're a team on a mission?" He asked.

"We didn't come for a play date." Robin replied to which Aqualad grinned.

_**Over at Project Cadmus,**_

The fire department was starting to get the fire under control but there were people trapped in the building. An explosion in the building forced two of the scientists to fall out of the window they were by. Luckily, Kid Flash raced up the side of the building and caught them. He got them to the roof before losing his footing and started to fall, only to catch himself on the open window. "Look, it's… what his name…Flash Boy!" One of the firemen said.

"It's Kid Flash!" Kid Flash shouted down at the firefighter. "Why is that so hard to remember?"

Robin and Aqualad arrived shortly after that behind the fire trucks. "So smooth." Robin chuckled.

"Does he always have to run ahead?" Aqualad asked in annoyance as he watched Kid Flash. "We need a plan." He looked to where Robin was only to see that Robin was no longer there. "Robin?" He then heard Robin's chuckling and turned to see him run up part of the ladder on a fire engine and then use his grappling hook to swing up to the window the Kid Flash was currently hanging onto. Robin helped Kid Flash up and the two went inside the building. Aqualad sighed in annoyance.

Aqualad ran up to one of the firefighters who was using a hose to put out the fire. "I'm going to need to borrow that." He said as he pulled the handled form his back and his tattoos started glowing. He controlled the water, turned it into a platform and used it to lift himself into the air. He came to a stop in front of the scientists. "Climb aboard, now." He said sternly.

The scientists did as they were told. Aqualad stopped at the window the others had gone in through and got off. He then directed the water platform to take the scientists down to the ground where they were taken by the paramedics. He then went inside to join the others.

"Thanks for the help, you two." Aqualad said in annoyance to Robin and Kid Flash as he joined them.

"Hey, you handled it." Robin countered before going back to the computer he was trying to hack and Kid Flash looked over some documents he found in a filing cabinet. "Besides we're here to investigate."

Aqualad decided to walk around to see what he could find. He stopped when he heard an elevator bing and turned to see an elevator door closing. There was a creature inside it with horns coming out of its forehead. "There saw something in the elevator." Aqualad replied as he pointed to the elevator.

"The elevators should be locked down." Kid Flash commented as he and Robin joined Aqualad.

Robin ran past Aqualad and went to the elevator. He tried pushing the down button to see what would happen but when nothing happened he got suspicious. "This is wrong." He commented as he activated a holographic computer on his left hand gauntlet and looked over the information he had hacked from the other computer. "I thought so… This is a high speed express elevator. It doesn't belong on a two story building." He told the others.

"Neither does what I saw." Aqualad agreed before walking up to the elevator doors. He then forced the doors open. They all looked down and couldn't even see the bottom. "That's why they have an express elevator." Robin commented before pulling out a grappling hook and fired it at the ceiling inside the elevator shaft. He then jumped down the shaft, using the grappling hook to lower himself down at a steady speed. The others then jumped onto the cable and slid down it. Robin came to a stop at Sub-Level 26. "I'm at the end of my rope." He commented before swinging to the ledge by the elevator door.

Aqualad came down after, jumped over to the ledge and helped Kid Flash over to the ledge as Robin began hacking into the security system. "By passing security…" Robin said as he worked. "There, go!"

Aqualad then forced the doors open. The three walked out into the area which was very large. "Welcome to Project Cadmus." Robin said to his partners.

Kid Flash then took off into the area. "Kid, wait!" Aqualad said urgently, not yelling to avoid being heard by others.

Kid Flash ignored Aqualad as he ran only to suddenly come to a screeching halt as he was nearly tramped by giant creatures with tusks coming from their mouths. Fortunately, he was fast enough to get away from them safely. The others had caught up and were looking at the giant creatures. "No, nothing strange going on here," Aqualad said sarcastically.

One the head of one of the giant creatures, a much smaller creature with small horns on its head was riding on the larger creature's head saw the three young heroes. The tiny horns on the tiny creature's head began to glow red. The three young heroes watched as the creatures walked down the hallway, completely ignoring them.

_**Meanwhile, in one of the Laboratories,**_

A scientist was working on combining the correct amount of chemicals into a formula for something called Project Blockbuster. The scientist had light skin, long brown hair with gray around the temples, and wore glasses over his brown eyes. The door to the lab then beeped alerting the scientist that someone was there to see him. The door opened to reveal Guardian and he had one of the tiny creatures from before on his shoulder. "Dr. Desmond." Guardian stated.

"Tell me, Guardian, what part of no interruptions did you not understand?" Dr. Mark Desmond asked arrogantly as he put the formula into a storage unit where other completed versions of the same formula were stored. "If you're here to tell me what caused the explosion on the street level facility, it can wait."

"I apologize, doctor, and I'm still waiting for the firefighters to finish cleaning up before I begin my investigation." Guardian stated. "However, a G-Gnome reported that it spotted several intruders on Sub-Level 26."

Dr. Desmond sighed. "Did I miss a perimeter breach alert?" He asked sarcastically.

"No…" Guardian replied as he raised an eyebrow.

"Then the G-Gnome is confused." Dr. Desmond stated. "No matter what happens in the fake lab above ground that everyone can see, the real Project Cadmus is the most secure facility in this city."

"And it's my job to keep it that way." Guardian stated matter-of-factly.

"Alright take a squad and investigate." Dr. Desmond groaned eager to get back to his work.

The being from the elevator then joined Guardian and Dr. Desmond. "Might I suggest that Guardian leave his G-Gnome behind, if violence should break out…" The creature said.

"Then the little guy would just be in my way." Guardian said.

"No, the advantage of instant telepathic contact with one another far outweighs any other concerns." Dr. Desmond argued. He then scratched the chin of the G-Gnome, next to his computer.

Once the doctor was done, the G-Gnome's tiny horns began to glow red. A moment later and the G-Gnome on Guardian's shoulder also had its horns glowing as well. Guardian's eyes widened briefly. "I need my G-Gnome with me at all times." He said in a way that sounded like he was in a trance. He then bowed to Dr. Desmond before leaving. The creature assistant watched as Guardian left as Dr. Desmond returned to his work on Project Blockbuster.

_**Meanwhile, on Sub-Level 26,**_

Robin hacked into a sealed door as Aqualad and Kid Flash kept a look out. The door opened and Robin was shocked by what he had found. Inside the room they found strange electrical creatures inside large glass jars, feeing their energy into a generator of some sort. "Okay, I am officially whelmed here." Robin said as he stared at the creatures wide-eyed.

"This is how they are able to hide this massive underground base from the rest of the world." Kid Flash said as they entered the room to look around. "The real Cadmus isn't on the grid. It generates its own power with these… things. Must be what they're bred for."

"Of course, even the name of the place is a clue." Aqualad stated. "The Cadmus of myth once grew a new race of being by sowing dragon's teeth in the ground."

"This Cadmus creates new life too." Robin said as he went over to the computer terminal and connected his wrist computer to it. "Let's find out why." He started to hack into the computer's databanks. "They call them Genomorphs." He looked over the info. "Holy shit, look the stats on these things! Super strength, telepathy, razor claw! These are living weapons!"

"They're creating an army." Kid Flash said. "But for who?"

"Wait there's something else here." Robin said as he pulled up another section of information. "Project X…ugh the file's triple encrypted. I can't-"

"DON'T MOVE!" A new voice shouted at the three heroes.

They turned to see Guardian had arrived with five Genomorphs. "Wait, Robin, Aqualad, Kid Flash?" He asked in confusion as he recognized each other the young heroes.

"At least he got your name right." Robin told Kid Flash before he went back to downloading all the information he could from Cadmus's files.

Aqualad recognized Guardian. "I know you, Guardian, a hero."

"I do my best." Guardian replied proudly.

"Then what are you doing here?" Kid Flash asked.

"I think that's my question boys." Guardian replied. "I'm chief of security and you're trespassing. But we can call the Justice League. Figure this out."

Robin finished his download while Kid Flash decided to try and get some straight answers. "You really think the League is going approve of you breeding weapons?" He asked angrily.

That caught Guardian by surprise. "Weapons? What are you…?" The G-Gnome on Guardian's shoulder had its horns begin to glow. "What have I…?" Guardian then grabbed his head and closed his eyes as if he were in pain. "Uh, my head…" His eyes then snapped open and he glared at the young heroes. "Take 'em down hard! No mercy!" He ordered.

The Genomorphs rushed forward to attack the three heroes but Robin reacted quickly by throwing a smoke pellet in front of them to prove cover. He then used his grappling hook to go over the enemy and took off while Kid Flash and Aqualad fought the creatures and Guardian. Kid Flash was able to take out the creatures using his speed while Aqualad used his electrical powers to stun Guardian. The two took off after Robin and soon found him at the express elevator, trying to hack into it.

Kid Flash reached Robin first. "Way to be a team player, Rob!" He said sarcastically.

"Weren't you right behind me?" Robin asked as he finished hacking in.

The door open and the two rushed inside. Aqualad had to dive into the elevator to keep from being left behind but managed to make it just in time. Kid Flash and Aqualad soon realized that they were heading further down. "We're heading down?" Aqualad asked Robin.

"Dude, out is up." Kid Flash reminded Robin.

Robin however had other ideas. "Excuse me, Project X it's down on Sub-Level 52." He explained.

Aqualad stepped in front of the others and rubbed the back of his neck. "This is out of control." He sighed. "Perhaps…" He looked at his friends. "Perhaps we should contact the League." He suggested.

Before the others could reply, the elevator beeped as they had reached Sub-Level 52. The elevator door then opened. Robin then rushed out into the area. "We are already here." Kid Flash commented before following Robin. Aqualad sighed as he followed the other two.

They made their way deeper into the level until they came to two tunnels. "Which way?" Aqualad asked Robin.

"Yeah, bizarre looking hallway one or bizarre looking hallway two." Robin commented.

"Hold!" They heard a voice shout from hallway one. They looked to see the creature, Dubbilex, that Aqualad had notice earlier step in the path. His horns began to glow as he raised his left hand and two barrels floated into the air. The barrels then flew at the three heroes, who ducked out of the way. Robin threw one of his wing-dings at Dubbilex but he stopped it with his telekinesis.

The heroes ran down hallway two as the creature telepathically threw more canisters at them. Guardian and his squad then exited the elevator. "They're heading for Project X." Dubbilex informed Guardian, who immediately headed towards that area.

The door to Project X opened as a female scientist was coming out after finishing her rounds. Kid Flash then came zipping into view and didn't have enough time to stop, so he skidded on the ground and took the lady's legs out from under her. He saw the door had Project X written on it and that the doors were closing, so he used a canister to keep the doors open long enough for Robin and Aqualad to get in. "Hurry!" He told them.

The three entered the lab with Aqualad looking behind them to see that Guardian had almost caught up. He kicked the canister free and the door slammed shut before any Genomorphs could get in. Robin then hacked the system to make sure that they were safe. "I've disabled the door." He told Aqualad. "We're safe."

Aqualad looked around and saw the truth. "We're trapped."

Kid Flash standing by the control console to Project X and called to his buddies. "Uh, guys, you may want to see this." He told them as he pushed a button and the lights turned on.

All three were wide-eyed when they saw what Project X was. Inside a glass cell was young man about 17 or 18 years old with messy black hair that was shoulder length in a mullet. He had a lean build where it seemed to be on par with a martial artists or Olympic athlete and was wearing what appeared to be wearing an all black solar suit (like the one superman wore in Superman Doomsday when he fought his clone) with a silver X on the chest and fingerless gloves and had a slightly tan complexion as well as an angular face that was derived of baby fat was. He appeared to be in a hibernation cycle of some kind as he wasn't moving and there were three capsules over him with G-Gnomes in them.

"Whoa." Kid Flash said while the others remained silent in surprise at finding another teenager.

"Robin, hack." Aqualad told the Boy Wonder, snapping the others out of the dazed state.

"Huh, oh right." Robin said as he jacked into the control consul and pulled up all the information on Project X. Kid Flash walked around the computer desk to get a closer look at the teenager in the glass case.

After a few minutes, Robin had gotten all the data. "Alright, Project X… According to this he was created by Project Cadmus about 6 years ago with the ability to regenerate at a superhuman level before-" Robin's eyes widened in disbelief and the words were stuck in his throat.

"What is it?" Aqualad asked the Boy Wonder while Kid Flash rushed over next to them.

Robin finally found his voice again. "I don't believe this!" He hissed angrily. "He has been infused with the DNA abilities of certain members of the Justice League, as well as other heroes and several Supervillains."

**List**: Superman, Wonder Woman, Captain Atom, Flash, Martian Manhunter, Captain Marvel, Black Canary, Zatara, Green Lantern aka John Stewart, Aquaman, Black Lightning, Brainiac, Darkseid and several others. There was even the listing of some creature called Doomsday, whatever that was.

This information shocked the other two heroes. "Say what? Something like this shouldn't even be possible." Kid Flash told his friends.

"Unfortunately is wasn't and Cadmus somehow managed to get their hands on samples of the Leagues' DNA right under their noses." Kaldur stated with a frown. "Now, we call in the League."

Robin nodded and tried to use the communicator in his wrist mounted computer but all he got was static. "Uh, we're either too far underground or they're jamming us." He told the others. "Looks like we're on our own."

"So what should we do now?" Kid Flash asked nervously.

Robin's eyes widened again as he continued reading about Project X. "Wait a second, it says here that they can only train him in a simulator because he seems to have a tendency for trying to escape." He informed the others. "Apparently, he seems to have developed his own individual identity even though they tried to breed him as the puppet."

"I must have been a side effect of J'onn's DNA or one of the others who have strong wills." Aqualad suggested before he looked down, thinking of what to do. He then came up with an idea. "Can you get him out of there?" He asked Robin, who caught on, smirked and nodded before he got to work trying to free Project X.

_**Meanwhile, outside the door,**_

Dr. Desmond had just joined Guardian, Dubbilex and the female doctor as they were trying to get the doors open. "We can't activate the door." The female doctor informed the group. "Someone has locked us out."

"My guess is it was Robin." Guardian stated, having come across the Boy Wonder before. "He's very good at things like that."

Dr. Desmond growled in frustration. "Then get some G-Trolls down here and muscle the door open!" He ordered. "We can't let them tamper with the weapon!" He looked at the G-Gnome on his shoulder. "Contact the G-Gnomes inside. Have them activate the weapon and have it deal with those three intruders or the board will have my head." He ordered with a hint of fear in his voice at the end of his statement.

_**Inside Project X,**_

Robin used his computer to open the glass pod to free Project X. As he worked he explained that the tiny creatures over Project X were called Genomorph Gnomes that were telepathic and force-feeding him an education. When the pod opened they saw him flex his hand and form a fist. They could hear his knuckles pop several times from this action. Aqualad narrowed his eyes when he saw the G-Gnomes horns glow red and Project X's eyes snapped open, revealing two deep blue eyes and in his line of sight were the sidekicks. They all just stared at each other for a moment before the three sidekicks heard a voice say, _'I'm sorry,'_ in their minds.

Then, without warning, X lunged at Aqualad, surprising the others as he went past them and slammed Aquaman's protégé into the wall. Aqualad struggled to get X off of him but said black hair teen was too strong. X pulled his right fist back and was going to slam it into the dark skinned Atlantean's skull but was stopped by Robin and Kid Flash.

"Hey, cool it man, we're trying to help you." Robin tried to explain as the two other sidekicks tried to pull Project X off of their comrade but X's arm slipped out of Kid Flash's grip and gave the speedster a solid uppercut to the jaw, sending him flying through a glass tank, knocking him out cold. Robin pulled out a gas pellet. "Don't make me do this." He tried again but was ignored so he slammed the pellet into the artificial human's face, making X back up and clutch his throat. This action caused X to loosen his grip on Aqualad, who took this opportunity to slam his foot into the dark haired teen's face, sending him flying into the computers and hitting the ground hard. Robin pulled a taser out of his utility belt as Project X got back up to his feet, slightly coughing. Two cables shot out of the taser and hit X square in the chest, releasing a high voltage of electricity into his body.

The electricity had no effect on X as he simply grabbed the two cables and used his super strength to pull Robin towards him. He grabbed the Boy Wonder by the throat and slammed him to the metal floor. Before Robin could get back up, X slammed his foot down on his chest in order to knock the wind out of him. Aqualad pulled one of his water controllers out of his backpack and water formed a sledge hammer before leaping towards X.

"Enough!" The Atlantean roared as he swung at Project X. X looked up just in time to be struck by the hammer. He crashed into the glass case he had been trapped in and hit the ground. Aqualad helped a wheezing Robin get onto his feet only for Robin to promptly collapsed onto his back and pass out. Kaldur looked to see the black hair teen approaching them with his sights set on Aqualad, who stood up in response. "Wait please! We're only trying to help you!" Aqualad tried again to reason with Project X.

X stopped in his tracks as Kaldur said that and smirked. "I know." He replied, making Aqualad blink in surprise as it was the same voice that the three sidekicks had heard in their heads earlier. X appeared in front of Aqualad, using the super speed he had acquired from Flash, and proceeded to hit him with a series of quick jabs to the face, chest and torso. He then grabbed Aqualad's shoulders and slammed his knee into the Atlantean teen's stomach, making him gasp out. X pulled Aqualad into a powerful bear hug. "But you three need it more than I do." He said as electricity erupted from his body, lighting up the area and shocking Aqualad at the same time.

"AAAAHHHH!" Aqualad cried out in pain as the electricity coursed through his body until it died down and darkness overtook him as he fell to the ground.

Project X looked around and saw what he was wearing. "I really hate when they put me in this stupid spandex." He grumbled in annoyance. He then felt a tug on his mind, so he turned his head to see the G-Gnomes trying to break into his mind again. "I don't think so." X narrowed his eyes at the bio creatures, causing his eyes to glow red and release a beam of concentrated energy (the Omega Beam) at the pod. The pod exploded with only a scorch mark remaining behind. "Sorry for having to kill you but I'm done being a mindless puppet." He commented before walking over to the unconscious sidekicks. He placed Aqualad over his shoulder with Kid Flash and Robin under his left arm and walked towards the door vault.

_**Meanwhile outside the room,**_

Guardian and the G-Trolls were trying to force the door open, only for it to be ripped off its hinges and sent flying through the tunnel. This action shocked the group until they saw Project X walking out the doorway with the three young vigilantes in his arms. Dr. Desmond smirked and was about to order him to finish them off when X narrowed his eyes dangerously at the scientist, freezing him in his tracks as the black haired young man's eyes glowed red. Suddenly, Dr. Desmond, along with Guardian, the female scientist and the bio creatures, were sent flying backwards. They crashed into the walls, slumping down to the ground while X walked past their unconscious forms.

"Enjoy your nap, bastards." X growled as he approached the elevator and entered it. A few minutes later, he exited the elevator and found that he was on level 14. "If I remember correctly this is the level where they store the main computer system." He said to himself as he walked down the vacant hallway. He eventually came to a room and mentally opened the doors. Once inside, he mentally closed the doors and gently set the three young heroes down.

X lightly kicked Aqualad in the side, making the Atlantean groan and regain consciousness before going over to the computer and hacking in. Aqualad sat up and saw his still unconscious comrades on the floor next to him while X was working at a computer. "Wh-where are we?" Kaldur asked as X finished what he was doing and pulled a flash drive out of the computer.

X went over the Aqualad and pulled him to his feet. "We're on level 14 of the Cadmus building." X explained. "Sorry for smacking you around like that but it was the only option I had at the time." Kaldur nodded in acceptance as Kid Flash and Robin began to wake up as well.

"Oh man, did anyone get the name of that freight train that hit me?" Kid Flash groaned as he shook the cobwebs from his head.

X smiled sheepishly. "Again, I'm sorry but you're lucky that I've gone through so much training to control my powers otherwise I could've knocked your head off."

"And I am thankful for that." Kid Flash muttered as he and Robin got to their feet.

Robin was about to go to the computer but X stopped him. "Don't both, I've already downloaded everything about the real Project Cadmus onto this flash drive." He said holding up the flash drive. "It has everything about me as well. But we need to hurry if we want to get out of here before more of Cadmus's forces come after us."

The others agreed and they all headed up towards the exit. As they got to the top floor they found Dr. Mark Desmond standing in their way, holding a vial that contained some sort of blue substance. "No one will be leaving out of here alive because Project Blockbuster will give me the power I need to restore order to Cadmus." The scientist then drank the substance before collapsing to his knees and morphing into a grey bulky creature with red eyes with his original skin hanging loosely from different parts of his. Blockbuster roared at the four teens.

X pulled out the flash drive and tossed it to Robin. "Hold on to that for me and keep it safe." He ordered before he rushed Blockbuster and slammed the creature into one of the pillars, reducing it to rubble, shaking the entire building. The three sidekicks heard the sounds of fists hitting flesh and then a black blur came flying out of the shadows, landing on the ground hard, creating a small crater.

X shook off the trauma and his eyes widened when he saw Blockbuster descend from the air with its fists pulled back over his head. X flipped back on his feet and leapt back while Blockbuster slammed his fists down on the area X had previously been at, increasing the size of the small crate. Blockbuster was suddenly slammed in the head with hardened water maces from Aqualad's water-bearers and stumbled backwards. Kid Flash appeared behind Blockbuster and slid forward, knocking the beast off its feet and slamming into another support beam. Robin also decided to get in on the fight, leaping into the air and throwing a couple of Batarangs at Blockbuster, who blocked them with its right arm. He then grabbed Robin by the throat mid air and slammed him into the ground. He brought his fist up into the air and began to bring them down on the Boy Wonder, only for a black blur to pull Robin out of the way before he was squashed.

"Man, that was close, thanks." Robin said gratefully to X who nodded a 'you're welcome'.

X turned his head back to see Aqualad getting punched repeatedly into a wall, causing the room to shake. Kid Flash managed to blindside him and struck Blockbuster in the face, taking the skin off as well. "Got your nose!" Kid Flash teased but Blockbuster just ignored him, so Kid Flash tried again only to get an elbow to the face. Blockbuster was about to smash the Atlantean's skull into the wall but was hit in the back with a powerful blast of yellow energy and was forced to drop Aqualad to the ground.

Blockbuster turned around to see X standing in a fighting stance and make a come on gesture with his hand. Blockbuster snarled at this and rushed towards X with its arm pulled back. Once it was close enough, it swung its massive fist at X who blocked the attack with his left arm. Blockbuster attempted to do a right hook only for X to stop his fist with his palm. The two then got into a struggle of strength with one another. The black haired teen then used the creature that was once Dr. Desmond's arms as a spring to deliver a powerful knee to its chin, making its head jerk back. X then followed up with an aerial kick to Blockbuster's jaw, causing it to crashing headfirst into the ground.

X grabbed Blockbuster by the arm and threw him into the air while his hands were glowing yellow. X then fired an energy beam from his hands which hit Blockbuster in the chest, causing him to hit the ceiling. As Blockbuster began to come back down, X appeared behind him and delivered powerful series of punches and kicks as the descended towards the ground. Just as Blockbuster crashed into the ground, X delivered a final, glowing punch to its jaw, making chucks of the ground shoot up and formed a large crater underneath Blockbuster's body. Once again the entire area shook violently.

"Whoa! Damn, if that didn't take him out then I don't know what will." Kid Flash commented.

Unfortunately, Blockbuster wasn't willing to give up and clinched its fists in anger at it slowly started to get back up. X however, stomped his foot down on Blockbuster's skull. He then leapt into the air and formed a ball of energy in his hand that got bigger as he added more power to it while electricity coursed through the attack. X then slammed by blast of raw power down into Blockbuster's chest. The explosion of power shot through the area, tearing through the ground and completely destroying the remaining support beams.

X leapt out of the crater as a large chunk of the ceiling fell on top of Blockbuster. "I think I may have over done it a little." He commented as he leapt over to the others. "Gather around me, unless you want to be crushed." He ordered the three, who looked at each other and nodded. They gathered around X who created a dome of energy over them as the building collapsed around them.

As the dust was settling, the dome of energy rose up out of the rubble, completely undamaged, before X dissipated the shield. "That was a close one." Robin commented.

"Yeah, thanks for the help um…" Kid Flash started to say but wasn't sure what to call their new friend.

X cracked his neck before looking at the others. "You can call me…Shark Dragon." He replied, thinking of two animals he knew were known for being fierce.

"Well, Shark, thanks for the save back there." Robin said.

Kid Flash chuckled. "Yeah, we would've been pancakes without you."

Shark chuckled but then stopped when he sensed something coming and looked up at the full moon. He saw a man descend from the sky wearing a red and blue costume with a red cape with a diamond shaped symbol with a red S in it on his chest.

"Superman." Kid Flash said as all the members of the Justice League appeared around the demolished building.

The seven founders of the Justice League approached the four teenagers but seemed to be mostly looking at Shark, wondering who he was. "Any idea who the new kid is?" Flash asked Batman who shook his head.

"No, but I'm sure we will be getting an explanation from our protégés." The Dark Knight replied in a calm tone.

It took a couple of minutes but Robin was able to explain to the League how they broke into Cadmus and discovered that they had a secret underground facility that was creating bioengineered weapons. He also explained that Shark aka Project X had been infused with the DNA and powers of several superheroes and villains in order to make him their ultimate weapon. This news shocked the members of the Justice League as they were completely unaware that anyone had managed to get samples of their DNA. After this was all explained, the founders were talking about Shark and his current 'condition' while said black haired teen was leaning up against a nearby wall with his eyes closed. He remained like this until he heard footsteps coming towards him and opened his eyes to see Superman approaching him while Batman was berating the other three on their actions involving Cadmus.

"I take it you're the Man of Steel, Superman, right?" Shark asked the last Kryptonian whose eyes widened in surprise causing a small smile to form on Shark's lips. "I was implanted with memories and information on the outside world during my 'conditioning'." He explained as he quoted with his fingers, receiving a nod of understanding from Superman. "So where do we go from here?" X asked.

Superman sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "We're currently trying to figure that out… the League I mean… With you having powers of certain members as well as ones from our enemies, we're sort stuck at a standstill on what to do with you but we're not going to lock you up or anything like that seeing as you helped the others get out of Cadmus and provided us with information on everything Cadmus had been working on." Superman explained. "Plus we want to make sure that you are capable of using your powers correctly." He gestured to the trashed building while Shark looked sheepish.

"Heh, yeah, sorry about the building but being held in there and being poked, probed and being experimented on for the last five years would more than likely make even someone like you throw a bit of a tantrum." Shark reasoned and Superman had to agree that Shark had a very good point. "But I promise you that this was a onetime thing. Part of my training here was to have complete control over my emotions. Trust me; this little scene won't happen again, I promise." He assured Superman, who looked at him for a moment before he smiled as well.

"Call me strange but I believe you." Superman told Shark. "But just in case, if you need any assistance in handling your abilities like my strength for example, let me know." He then patted Shark on the shoulder before handing him a communicator and then taking off into the sky.

Shark then walked over to where Robin, Kid Flash and Aqualad were standing while Batman approached him. The two stopped when they were standing side-by-side, facing the opposite directions. "I take it your protégés want to become more independent, correct?" Shark asked Batman, who nodded. "And they want me to be a part of this new team that you're putting together?" The Dark Knight once again nodded. Shark smirked. "Well, it's not like I have anything better to do. They have potential especially if they were able to break into a place like Cadmus and find me in there but they're gonna need someone who has experience similar to that of the League to help them out especially with their teamwork."

Batman looked directly at Shark and raised an eyebrow, asking Shark to explain. Shark smiled. "Cadmus was doing more than just training me to be their weapon. They wanted me to be able to lead their forces against their enemy so I was placed in a very realistic simulation since I was young where I learned that the dynamics of teamwork could mean the difference between victory and defeat." He explained.

"Just how realistic was this simulator?" Batman asked curiously.

Shark frowned. "Any injury I sustained in the simulator really happened to my body." He replied.

"I see. Judging from your eyes, I can tell that you have the knowledge and experience of a leader who has fought in many battles and would be the perfect one to lead this team." Batman said calmly. "So are you in?"

Shark grinned at the Dark Knight.

_**July 8, at Mount Justice,**_

Inside the original headquarters of the Justice League, the League members were getting the equipment reinstalled and hooked up for the new occupants. Robin, Kid Flash, Aqualad and X were all wearing different outfits. Robin was wearing an orange and brown hooded shirt, blue jeans and sunglasses over his eyes to conceal his secret identity. Kid Flash was wearing a short sleeve blue shirt with a long sleeve white shirt underneath, blue jeans and red tennis shoes. Aqualad was wearing a blue and black jacket with a high collar to hide his gills, black pants and black sandals. Shark, now going by the codename Red X, was wearing a black t-shirt with a red X across the chest, blue jeans, black combat boots, as black fingerless gloves on his hands. Shark had also cut his hair so that it was much shorter. He was also wearing a black duster jacket over his clothes with the front open that was made from a very rare but extremely durable material.

"This cave was the original secret sanctuary of the Justice League." Batman informed the teenagers as he walked in front of them. "We're calling it into service again. Since you four are determined to stay together and fight the good fight, you'll do it on league terms." He stopped and faced the teenagers. "Red Tornado has volunteered to live here and act as your supervisor. Black Canary is in charge of training. I will deploy you on missions."

"Real mission?" Robin asked.

"Yes but covert." Batman replied calmly.

"The League will still handle the obvious stuff." Flash explained. "There's a reason we have these big targets on our chests." He tapped the symbol on his chest.

"But Cadmus proves that the bad guys are getting smarter." Aquaman added. "Batman needs a team that can operate on the sly."

"The six of you will be that team." Batman finished calmly.

"Cool… wait, six?" Robin asked in surprise.

Red X smirked as he looked behind him while Batman did the same. The others looked to see Wonder Woman and Martian Manhunter walking out of the shadow with two females that appeared to be close to Shark's age.

The first one had green skin like J'onn did as well as auburn eyes and shoulder-length red hair as well as had freckles on her cheeks. Her primary outfit consists of a short-sleeved white top with a red X on it, along with a blue skirt, cape, gloves, and ankle high boots.

The other girl was like a teenage version of Wonder Woman having the same smooth shoulder length black hair, fair skin, and blue eyes, wearing a pair of star earrings on her ears. She wore and all red skin tight sleeveless suit with gold stars going down the sides and also had a gold belt with a W on the buckle as well as knee high black boot and silver gauntlets on her arms with a golden lasso on the belt.

"This is Martian Manhunter's niece, Miss Martian, and Wonder Woman's younger sister, Wonder Girl." Batman explained. "They will be your new teammates."

"Hi, my name's M'gann M'orzz or you can just call me the English translation, Megan Morse." Miss Martian said shyly.

"Greetings, you can call me Donna Troy, the youngest Amazon warrior on Themyscira." Wonder Girl informed the males.

The group took turns introducing themselves with Wally trying to act like Mister smooth while Red X was the one who caught both girls' attention. Megan's shirt and cape shifted to match Shark's and she smiled brightly at him. "I like your outfit." She commented.

"I'll say, especially the coat." Donna commented. "It would be easy for you to hide your weapons from the enemy in it."

Shark's training had prepared him for many things but dealing with girls was not one of them. He smiled sheepishly while rubbing the back of his head as a blush formed on his face. Robin and Kid Flash snickered at the scene. "Looks like the newbie, can't even respond to two girls." KF stated as Donna asked if Shark could get her a customized version of his jacket in her size.

_**Meanwhile, at an unknown location,**_

The Cadmus Board of Directors watched as Guardian informed Dr. Spence, the female scientist from earlier, and Dubbilex that he had been place in charge of Project Cadmus and decreed that Cadmus would no longer be creating weapons or using G-Gnomes to control people's minds. "This is a kinder gentler Cadmus." Guardian finished.

"Then of course, I will help in any way I can, brother." Dubbilex stated calmly. The screen showing this meeting then went black.

The seven directors of Cadmus all had their faces distorted with white light to make sure that no one accidentally discovered them. They were also given codenames of L-1 thru L-7. "Can the Light afford to leave Guardian in charge without the G-Gnomes?" One of the members asked.

"We have subtler means of control." Another member replied. "What concerns me…is the children." An image of Red X, Robin, Aqualad and Kid Flash running through Cadmus appeared on a screen. "We now know that the League is going to be employing these young heroes to do their dirty work. That's a dark twist."

"Yes but one that can be played to our advantage." Another member said calmly. "Even the temporary lose of the weapon, could prove to be useful. Eventually, everyone sees the light."

**To Be Continued…**


	2. Chapter 2: Being a Team

**Young Justice**

**Chapter 2: Being a Team**

_**Close to Midnight at the Docks of Star City,**_

A pair of hooded men was loading crates full of illegal weapons into trucks when an arrow hit the ground between them. It exploded, knocked the men off their feet and causing the crate to fall to the ground and break open. One of the weapons slid on the ground to the feet on the ring leader, who immediately picked up the weapon and started looking for whoever shot the arrow. The man was extremely large with white hair, brown eyes and was wearing a custom made suit. His name was Brick. Brick charged up the weapon and saw Speedy standing on top of one of the cranes. "You again?" He bellowed angrily. "I'm starting to get insulted Green Arrow's not messing up my operations personally." He started firing the weapon at Speedy, who moved out of the way and started jumping around.

Speedy did a flip in the air as he ran across a high beam. He drew an arrow and fired it mid flip. The arrow hit the blaster down the barrel, causing the weapon to explode on Brick. When the smoke cleared, Brick was unharmed but his suit had been ruined by the explosion. "Do you know what I have to pay for a suit in my size?" He asked angrily. He turned to his men. "Scorch the earth, boys." He ordered.

Brick's men immediately lifted their weapons only for two of them to be taken down by a yellow blur that ran by. The remaining two turned their weapons after the blur only for their weapons to be taken out by Batarangs. A chuckling Robin swung overhead. Aqualad then appeared on top of a crate and used his water-bearers to form whips of water to take out the last two goons.

Brick ripped off the remains of his suit top and ripped up a large piece of concrete, holding it over his head. He threw it at Speedy, who ducked out of the way and returned fire with an exploding arrow. The arrow exploded on contact with Brick but it barely fazed the criminal, who had another piece of concrete in his hands. He threw it Speedy, who got out of the way, for Aqualad to slice the rock with a water sword, while Speedy fired a smokescreen arrow at Brick. The smoke engulfed Brick, giving the young heroes a chance to talk.

"The cave is perfect. It has everything the team will need." Aqualad informed Speedy.

"For covert missions, you know, spy stuff." Robin added excitedly as he landed behind the two.

Kid Flash rushed up to them. "And wait until you meet Wonder Girl and Miss Martian." He said excitedly. "But I saw 'em first!"

The smoke around Brick had cleared and he stood up with a large slab of concrete over his head. He threw it at the team only for something to send the projectile right back at hit, with even greater force. "Who did that?" Brick roared as he had been pushed backwards.

"I did!" A voice said from above the four sidekicks. Everyone looked to see Red X standing there but he was wearing an all black bodysuit with a red X on his chest and the back of his gloves. He had a black mask on that covered his entire face with a red X in the center of the mask that crossed between the two white eye holes. There was a utility belt on his waist with an X on the belt buckle. He also had a pair of katana swords crossed on his back with red hilts.

"What is this? Some sort of Batman wannabe?" Brick asked as Red X pulled out a small disk. X flicked the disk at Brick, which hit him in the chest, with Brick not even trying to get out of the way. "And just what it this supposed to do?" Brick asked cockily before the disk exploded, quickly covering him completely in some sort of foam.

"High-density Polyurethane foam, nice." Kid Flash commented while giving Red X a thumbs up.

"And who is that?" Speedy asked as Red X jumped down.

Robin sighed as he leaned up against one of the crates. "That's our team leader, Red X." He said sarcastically, as he did not like being told what to do by the new guy. He quickly changed the subject. "So, Speedy, you in?" He asked excitedly as Speedy started to walk into a darkened area between the crate Robin was leaning on and the crate behind Aqualad.

Speedy stopped and looked at Robin. "Pass. I'm done letting Arrow and the League telling me what to do." He growled angrily. "I don't need a babysitter or a clubhouse to hang out with the other kids! Your Junior Justice League's a joke, something to keep you busy, and in your place!" He then stomped off. "I don't want any part of it."

Red X narrowed his eyes at Speedy and had only one thought about his attitude. "Arrogance." He muttered under his breath as he shook his head in disappointment.

_**The next day, at Mount Justice, in Happy Harbor,**_

Shark was hovering over the lake in a meditative position, wearing blue shorts and a white short sleeved shirt. His boots and jacket were lying on the shore. He was doing this to calm his mind and had his eyes closed when a pair of hands covered his eyes. "Guess who?" A familiar feminine voice asked while Shark raised his right eyebrow.

"Donna." Shark replied. Said female removed her hands from over Shark's eyes and he turned his head towards her. Donna was currently wearing a red and black short sleeved T-shirt that hugged her body with a pair of dark blue jeans and some red and white tennis shoes. She also had her hair tied up in a high ponytail with two bangs falling in front of her face. She was floating in the air as well. "Is there something I can help you with?" He asked her.

The grin on her face was replaced with a frown. "I'm bored." Donna complained as she folded her arms under her chest. Shark chuckled and shook his head as he floated over to his gear and put it on while Donna followed him. "We've been living at Mount Justice for a week now and the League still hasn't given us a single mission to go on."

Shark sighed as he pulled on his jacket. "Donna, I know you guys are excited to start doing missions as soon as possible but have a little patience." He implored her. "We'll get a mission soon enough, just take this time to relax a little. I know I am."

Donna replied by huffing and puffing her cheeks out. "That's because you have the DNA a hermit in you." She retorted causing Shark to shake his head in amusement.

"Sage, Donna, I have the DNA of a sage in me." He corrected. "And even if I did have hermit DNA, I'm not going to act like an old man that lives in the mountains eating nuts and berries until I croak." Donna giggled at the thought of Shark doing something like that. Shark then looked at her. "You know, for an Amazon, you're pretty laid back." He commented.

Donna smiled. "That's because of my sister but don't let this pretty face fool you, I can still turn a mountain into rubble with a single punch." She told him as they walked in to the cave just in time to see that Robin and Kid Flash had arrived and join Aqualad and Miss Martian in waiting for Red Tornado to arrive.

"Did you ask him?" Robin asked Aqualad.

"What did he say?" Kid Flash asked impatiently.

"He's arriving now." Aqualad informed the two excited heroes.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Kid Flash asked before heading over to meet up with Red Tornado. Robin and Aqualad soon followed with Donna, Shark and Miss Martian floating in the air after them.

The group went to the front entrance at the base of Mount Justice and exited the cave. The group looked up just as Red Tornado was arriving. "Red Tornado!" Kid Flash waved to the robotic hero.

"Greetings, is there a reason for you to intercept me outside the cave?" Red Tornado asked.

Aqualad stepped up. "We were hoping that you might have a mission for us."

"Mission assignments are Batman's responsibly." Red Tornado replied.

Shark rolled his eyes. "Uh, you guys seriously need to chill out. We'll get a mission soon enough for Christ's sake." He said as he was starting to get a little annoyed with how impatient the group was turning out to be.

"This team is not a social club, Shark." Aqualad stated.

"That may be the case but social interaction is a team building exercise and I wouldn't exactly call this group a team just yet, Kaldur." Shark countered surprising the others.

"What do you mean by that?" Robin questioned Shark.

Shark gave them all a serious look. "What I mean is, aside from knowing each other's powers and skills, what exactly do you know about one another?" He asked. "Do you know each other's likes, dislikes, hobbies or what your hopes for the future are? Can you honestly tell me that you consider each other as friends?"

The other young heroes were surprised by these questions while Red Tornado nodded his head in approval. "Shark is indeed correct. By knowing each other on a personal level you'll be able to act more as a team once you start your missions." He then walked past the group. "Perhaps you can begin to do this my familiarizing yourselves with the cave."

"That's cool with me as long as I get to know Megster here on a more personal level." Wally said as he put his arm around Megan, who just blinked in confusion before Shark pulled Wally off of her by the back on his neck. "Hey!" Wally cried out as Shark pulled him back a few feet away from Megan.

"Down boy and what have you been told about respecting people's personal space?" Shark asked Wally before turning his attention to Megan. "Sorry about that, Megan, Walter here is still being trained."

Robin, Donna and Kaldur all found this new name for Wally to be quite funny. "Yeah, Walter, show some self control." Robin chuckled.

"At least I don't smell like spring cut flowers and fresh ocean air." Wally tried to retort.

Shark shrugged. "So sue me. I like to smell nice. Besides, I know that Megan here likes the way I smell." He countered, causing Megan to turn away so no one would see her blush.

Kid Flash grumbled but Shark decided that it was enough teasing for the time being. "Well, as I was saying, we should take this down time to get to know each other as more than just comrades. That and we should do some teamwork exercises that we can operate better as a team since most of you have little to no experience at working with more than one person, and in most cases that other person happened to be your mentor." Shark continued his explanation.

The group then decided to follow Red Tornado's suggestion and went about touring and discussing the cave, which was the inside of the entire mountain. "It was hollowed out and reinforced by Superman and Green Lantern back in the early days of the Justice League." Wally said as the reach the water entrance.

"Then why did the abandon it for the Hall of Justice?" Donna asked curiously.

Aqualad was the one who answered her. "The cave's secret location was compromised." He explained. "So they decided to abandon it and created the Hall of Justice, which now acts as a tourist trap."

"But if villains know about the cave, then that means we'll have to be on guard all the time." Megan said.

"Actually, we're hiding in plain sight as the bad guys must have figured that the League would never think to use a hideout that the villains already know about." Shark assured her.

"Oh, I guess that makes sense." Megan said calmly.

Shark then sniffed the air. "I smell smoke." He informed the group.

Megan then gasped. "Oh no I forgot about my cookies!" She then took off for the kitchen with the others following right behind her. She reached the kitchen and used her telekinesis to open the oven and pull out the burnt cookies. She sent them down on the table. "I was trying out Grandma Jones' recipe from episode 17 of… uh never mind." She said.

Donna smiled. "Don't worry about it, we all get distracted on occasion but next time, you might want to remember to use the timer." She suggested.

Megan smiled and then remembered something. "Hello, Megan." She smacked her forehead. "I have something I want to show you guys." She flew off to another area of the cave and the others followed her.

The six heroes took the elevator to the hanger pay. "It's my Martian Bio Ship." Megan told them as the exited the elevator and found a red and blue pod that only looked big enough for one person to fit into.

"Cute." Wally commented. "Not aerodynamic but cute."

"That's because it's in rest mode, silly." Megan giggled. "I'll wake it." She gestured her hand at it and the pod morphed into a ship, before their very eyes.

"Now that is cool." Donna said with a smile.

A door opened in the back. "So you guys wanna take it for a ride?" Megan asked.

The others happily agreed and went inside the ship. The found a seat for each of them that automatically strapped them in when they sat down into it while Megan sat at the control station. Red Tornado opened the hangar doors for them and the ship took off. After a bit, Megan decided to show the group her powers and shifted into female version of Robin and Kid Flash and changed into a perfect copy of Donna. "Impressive but you do realize that you're not going to be able to fool anyone with those copies of me and KF." Robin reminded Megan as she sat back down.

"Mimicking boys is a lot harder for me to do than girls." Megan explained.

"And your clothes?" Kaldur asked curiously.

Megan chuckled. "They're organic like this ship. They respond to my mental commands." She explained. "My uncle told me that using by telepathy to read minds can be considered a serious invasion of privacy here on Earth so I'll try not to do it unless I have to."

"Hey, can you do that ghosting through walls thing that Manhunter does?" Wally asked.

"Density shifting? No…it's a very advance technique and I haven't reached that stage in my training yet." She replied sadly.

Robin grinned. "Flash can vibrate his molecules to pass through walls. When Wally tries it he gets a bloody nose." He chuckled.

"Dude!" Wally shouted causing the others to chuckle.

Megan was showing them the ship's camouflage mode when Red Tornado contacted the ship about a disturbance at the Happy Harbor Power Plant. Robin grumbled about Red Tornado just keeping the busy while Shark shook his head as Megan piloted the ship to the location of the power plant.

_**Shortly, at the Happy Harbor Power Plant,**_

The six young heroes disembarked from the ship and saw a tornado heading straight for the power plant but there were no storm clouds in the sky. "Robin, are tornadoes common in New England?" Aqualad asked only to receive no rely. He, Donna, Megan and Wally looked to see that Robin had disappeared while Shark looked at the power plant and heard laughter echo around the area.

"He was here just a second ago." Megan commented as she looked around for the Boy Wonder.

Shark shook his head. "It looks like this team has a long road ahead of them." He muttered to himself as the windows to power plant shattered. Wally pulled a pair of red goggles out of his pocket and put them over his eyes, while Shark pulled a mask out from inside his jacket and put it over his head.

The group headed into the building and saw Robin getting blown back into a support beam by a whirlwind created by a hulking red and blue android with a torn scarf around its neck, tubes coming out of its back connected to a form of cannons on each arm. The heroes ran at it with Donna briefly landing next to Robin. "Hey, Robin, whose your new friend?" She asked before dashing forward at the androids.

"I didn't catch his name but he plays kinda rough!" Robin replied in a sarcastic tone.

"My apologizes, you may refer to me as Mister Twister." The android announced to the group. Mister Twister then used his cannons to create two funnels and shot them at Donna, who use her arms to shield her eyes but was still pushed back until she was caught in a miniature twister and sent flying towards a wall. Fortunately, Red X caught her and floated them safely down to the ground.

"Thanks." Donna said as she turned her attention to Mister Twister and the others. "I'm guessing a frontal assault is not going to work on this guy, huh?" The two watched as Kid Flash and the other tried to get attack as well but suffered the same results as Donna. The young heroes regrouped around Red X and Donna.

"I was prepared to be challenged by a superhero; I was not, however, expecting children." Mister Twister commented.

Robin growled angrily and was about to throw some Batarangs at Mister Twister only for Red X to stop him. "Cool it, Robin; he's just trying to make you angry." He said calmly. Robin took a deep breath to calm down. "Frontal attacks won't work on this guy and, based on what I've seen from how he fights, he's very effective at long and mid-range combat which has you all at a disadvantage."

"Well, it seems that one of you actually knows what he is doing." Mister Twister taunted. "However, I am not interested in playing with children." He turned and started to leave the building.

"Oh no you don't!" Kid Flash shouted as he rushed forward.

"Kid, wait!" Red X tried to stop him but was ignored.

Mister Twister used his wind cannons to block Wally and threw him out of the building. The others soon rushed forward, forgetting what Red X had told them. Red X sighed in frustration as he watched the so-called team try to fight Mister Twister only to be thoroughly humiliated before Mister Twister left the power plant. "What part of frontal attacks won't work didn't you guys understand?" Red X asked Robin, Aqualad, Donna and Megan.

"Sorry, Shark, I guess we lost our heads." Donna apologized.

Red X led the group outside in time for Miss Martian to use her telepathy to stop Wally from being thrown into a nearby wall. "Now, are you guys going to actually form some sort of teamwork or are you just going to keep humiliating yourselves?" Red X asked calmly.

"Are you just going to criticize us all day or actually try to help stop him?" Robin asked angrily, getting fed up with Red X's kicked back attitude.

"I'll fight him as soon as I know you guys won't jump in and get caught in the crossfire." Red X retorted. "All you've done so far if rush at him like a bunch of rookies not taking any time to study his abilities for some kind of weakness."

"Megan, see if you can read his mind." Aqualad suggested.

Megan began using her power but couldn't read anything. "Nothing, I'm getting nothing." Megan told the group. "Hello, Megan! Mister Twister is Red Tornado in disguise! He's inorganic, an android, and how many androids do you know that can generate tornadoes!"

Aqualad, Kid Flash and Robin were getting real upset at this news from what Speedy had told them the night before. "A good guess but you're wrong." Red X stated calmly, getting everyone's attention. "Just because he has powers similar to that of Red Tornado does not mean that we're facing Red Tornado. Besides, Tornado is not the kind of person that would disguise himself to test our teamwork skills; he'd probably just pretend to have a malfunction inside our hideout."

Mister Twister, floating over head, overheard what the teenagers were saying. "You think I'm Tornado, how ironic." He commented as he pointed his cannons upwards and created two twisters over his head. The sky began to darken, thunder boomed around them as the black clouds rotated around them and the wind speed increased.

"You guys stay here while I handle this and I mean stay here!" Red X ordered before taking off into the sky.

Twister released a massive bolt of lightning that stuck Red X head on but Red X immediately began absorbing the electricity using the power he got from Black Lightning and Captain Atom to do it. He returned the electricity back at Mister Twister, surprising the android, who barely managed to get out of the way.

Red X immediately followed up with a yellow blast of atomic energy, which Twister blocked using his wind cannons but was unable to prevent Red X from getting right up in his face and punching the android in the face. The force of the attack sent him rocketing down to the nearby beach shore, causing an explosion of sand when he hit the ground.

Mister Twister got up and found Red X floating overhead. "This is starting to get boring." He told the android.

"Insolent brat, I will not stand for this! Die!" Mister Twister shouted as he raised his hands to fire his cannons only for Red X to appear right in front of him and grab him arms.

"You see very proud of these arms of yours." Red X commented as he started crushing the arms. "Let's see how tough you are without them!" He ripped off both of Mister Twister's arms.

"No! My arms! You will pay for this you-" Red X punched Mister Twister's head off its shoulder and into the ocean.

"Shut up." Red X growled. Kid Flash, Aqualad, Robin, Megan and Donna all appeared on the shore line. The chest of the headless android opened up and out dropped none other than Brom Stikk, who looked at Red X with fear.

"F-Foul, I call foul." He said weakly.

Red X's eyes glowed red before he fired his Omega beams at the man, causing him to be burned alive.

"Dude, I don't know what kind of training you had in Cadmus but we don't execute our captives!" Robin yelled.

"Quiet!" Shark snapped at Robin, making the Boy Wonder jump back in surprise as the expression on Shark's face was very similar to one that Batman would give him. "Our so-called captive was an android just like Mister Twister." He explained, gesturing to the scattered pieces of the human like android. "That's why Megan couldn't read his mind earlier, in case you weren't paying attention."

"So that mean we just kicked some serious butt today." Wally announced with a grin.

"No _we_ didn't." Red X countered. "This mission was a complete failure." These statements caused the others to look at him in surprise.

"But the enemy was defeated." Donna argued. "Isn't that what matters in the end?"

Shark shook his head. "There is more to a mission than just defeating the bad guy, Donna, and there were many mistakes made in this battle." He replied. Shark looked directly at Robin. "Robin, you should know that you are no longer a loner and are now part of a team. Your disappearing without us knowing in an attempt to take down the enemy alone is foolish and downright reckless especially when you're facing someone who knows your abilities and what your skill level is." Robin looked down in shame as he knew. Shark turned to the rest of the group. "The rest of you charged in head first without even taking the time to see what you were up against. When facing a new opponent you must analyze his movements until you are able to find a weakness in his abilities." He then directed his attention at Megan. "Megan, I know that you, Donna and I are new to this group but you have to be more careful in your judgment when it comes to an enemy with the same abilities as someone like Red Tornado and just assuming that the enemy is said hero in disguise." He chastised while she looked down at the ground sadly and Donna also looked ashamed.

Shark sighed. "Overall we have a lot of work ahead of us but that's to be expected on a team that is so new. We'll have to work on our strengths and weaknesses. For example, Wally, you can't just rush into a battle and not know what the situation is. You need to learn to slow down and keep a level head." Shark stated while Kid Flash looked sheepish and put his hands in his pockets. "Lastly, I know that most of you have experience fighting these types of enemies but don't let that go to your head. It will cost you dearly if you do. I've seen what happens when people underestimate who they are fighting and most times they end up dead. You must never let your guard down and always be on alert. Any enemy that is backed into a corner will become extremely dangerous for anyone, even a metahuman." He instructed them and received a nod from each of them.

"Well, I say we call it a day. We'll need to work on strategizes more than anything right now." Shark said calmly. "Megan, can you bring the Bio Ship over to our location?" He got a nod from the female Martian who sent a telepathic message to her ship.

Kaldur sighed. "Now I understand what you meant when you said that we weren't really a team just yet. I guess we still have a lot to learn." The Atlantean said and Shark nodded.

"Yes but don't worry, we'll eventually get the hang of being a team and once we do, we'll be a force to reckon with, I guarantee it." Shark promised as the Bio Ship landed in front of the future team. They gathered up the remains of Mister Twister and the Brom Skitt android and loaded them onto the ship.

_**Meanwhile, at a hidden location,**_

The real Brom Skitt had watched everything that had happened through his computers. "Now, Brom, aren't you glad that I didn't let you wear the armor?" Another man asked from behind Brom. The man was wearing a white lab coat.

"Extremely, professor, but you're not upset?" Brom asked as he faced his partner who was none other than Professor T. O. Morrow, the creator of Red Tornado.

"I'm positive that our tracking program was working properly and that the real Tornado was somewhere in the area." Morrow said calmly. "Besides, you know that science advances in fits at start, even failure can be instructive, and I'd say we learned quite a lot today."

_**That night, inside the cave,**_

Red Tornado and the team were inspecting the remains of Mister Twister. "It was clearly created to either sabotage or destroy you." Aqualad stated to Red Tornado.

"Agreed." Red Tornado said.

"Is that why you didn't come to help us?" Megan asked curiously.

"No, this was your battle." Red Tornado explained. "I do not believe that it is my role to solve your problems for you. Nor should you solve mine for me."

"But if you're in danger…" Megan started.

"Let it go, Megan." Shark said calmly. "Sometimes people have to solve their problems on their own. But if Red Tornado needs our help, we've be ready."

Red Tornado nodded and turned to leave the area. "Batman, Aquaman and Flash would've jumped right in to fix things." Wally commented.

"Guess if we're going to have a babysitter it might as well be a heartless robot." Robin added.

"Dude, harsh!" Wally whispered.

"Actually, I do have a heart, made of carbon steel alloy." Red Tornado commented as turned back to the group. "I also have excellent hearing."

"Oh, right, sorry." Robin apologized before Red Tornado left the group to themselves.

"Speedy was so wrong." Kid Flash said with a smile.

"This team thing…" Robin started.

"Just might word out after all." Aqualad finished as the three walked away.

Shark smirked as the girls soon followed. _'This team will work; it just needs a little getting used to.'_ He thought as he joined the team.

**To Be Continued…**


	3. Chapter 3: Showdown on Santa Prisca

**Young Justice**

**Chapter 3: Showdown on Santa Prisca**

_**At night, inside a factory on Santa Prisca,**_

Men and women wearing red robes that covered their heads were holding laser weapons had overrun the facility and taken those that worked in the factory prisoner. Among the captives was none other than one of Batman's most dangerous enemies, the name called Bane. Bane had almost ended Batman's days as a crime fighter but, thanks to the magical healing powers of some of his allies, the Dark Knight was able to recover and defeated Bane in their next encounter. "(Our sublime master proclaims that he will depart this facility… if one of you can defeat his champion in single combat.)" A spokesperson for the robed people said to the group in Spanish.

Bane was not intimidated by these robed men and stepped forward. He went to the gate to face this champion. "(Let get this over with.)" Bane replied in Spanish as well, confident that he could defeat anyone.

The gate was buzzed open and Bane stepped into the arena. He looked across to where his opponent was stand and was somewhat disappointed when he saw a scrawny young man with brown hair standing by a young woman. Bane heard something hit the ground behind him and turned to see his Venom wrist control. "(Why are you returning to me my greatest weapon?)" He asked the robed man. "(What's the catch?)"

"(I assure you that there is no catch.)" The robed man replied. "(We could hardly consider this battle to be a true test of his abilities if you were not at your very best.)"

Bane smirked as he strapped the control on his left wrist and inserted the tube to the back of his head. "(You want me at my best then you've got it.)" The mask warrior said as the Venom travelled through the tube and entered his body. Bane groaned as his muscles all over his body bulked up, increasing his size and strength. He prepared to engage his opponent in battle.

The young woman, whose name was Shimmer, stepped up next to the young man and held a shot with a purplish liquid inside it. She injected the Kobra Venom into the man's left shoulder and he fell to his knees. Bane watched as the young man's body underwent a violent transformation, changing the scrawny man into a mammoth grey skinned monster with areas where his skin was broke open showing the muscle tissue that was underneath.

The mammoth creature rushed towards Bane, who stood his ground. The two collided and Bane was surprised to find himself being pushed back by the creature's strength. Bane delivered a powerful left uppercut followed by a right fist to the chest only for both attacks to have no effect on the creature. The creature grabbed Bane by the back of the neck and punched the masked fighter in the torso, surprising him by how strong he was. The creature followed with a left-right combo to the face and grabbed Bane's left wrist as he fell backwards. Mammoth swung Bane around and threw him into a pipe against the wall. Bane slowly got back up to his feet, only for the creature to shoulder tackle him back into the pipe, causing the pipe to break and smoke to fill the area. Mammoth grabbed Bane by the head and threw him out into the center of the arena. The monstrous creature followed Bane and delivered a devastating right fist to Bane's skull, which caused a crater to form under Bane's now unconscious head. A resounding crunch was heard by Bane's men, causing them to flinch.

The mammoth creature roared in triumph as the robed man smirked. "Hail Kobra… Hail Kobra…" The man chanted and was slowly joined by more and more robed members. "HAIL KOBRA!" could soon be heard cheered throughout the entire factory as the leader of the Cult of Kobra smiled in victory.

_**A few weeks later,**_

It has been a few weeks since the fight with Mister Twister and the team has come a long way thanks to Red X's training. He had helped them work on their strengths and weaknesses as well as informing them of any mistakes that they made during the training exercises. He also had them go through tests that involved them trying to capture him but Shark proved that he was far more cunning and resourceful than they originally believed, especially when he revealed the ability to teleport and create duplicates of himself _(much like Shadow Clones from Naruto)_. These abilities are believed to be a side-effect from having the DNA of so many superpowered beings infused in him.

Even though he was training the team, Shark made sure that he had time to meet with members of the Justice League to receive help in working with their abilities, like Superman's strength and various visions, different ways of using Flash's Speed, Captain Atom's ability to fire atomic blasts and absorb energy, and so on. So far Shark has found that he has Superman's heat vision and telescopic vision. While working with Flash, Shark was able to master the technique vibrating his molecules to pass through walls… without his nose bleeding, much to Kid Flash's annoyance. Captain Atom helped Shark realize that even if he is absorbing energy, it takes a lot on concentration to contain it while it's still fresh and, if he absorbs too much at one time, it will cause him violent pains. Shark was also receiving tips and pointers from Zatara, when he's available, in how to use the magical energies he had acquired from the DNA infusions, as well as a few books on spell magic.

Right now, however, the team was gathered in the cave so Batman could give them their first official mission. Batman pulled up images of Santa Prisca. "Santa Prisca." Batman began. "This island nation is the world's primary source of a dangerous and illegal steroid, a strength enhancing drug known on the streets as Venom." He switched the images. "Thermo imaging indicates that their factory is still operating at full capacity but all shipments of Venom have been halted for unknown reasons." Batman faced the group. "That's where this team comes in. Your mission is to conduct a covert recon mission only. You are to observe what is going on and report back in with your findings. If the Justice League needs to intervene, we will, but only if we have a good reason for doing it." Shark nodded in understanding as Batman turned back towards the screens. "You have two entry point drop zones."

Robin wanted to ask who was in charge but since Red X had been made team leader already, it would just be a dumb question. Robin was still having trouble with a newbie being in charge of the team when he had the most experience since he had been working with Batman for a while now.

"Alright, everyone suit up and meet in the hangar bay." Red X ordered and the team got on their way.

_**A few hours later, in the Caribbean Sea,**_

Miss Martian was piloting the Bio Ship in camouflage mode as everyone else was mentally preparing for the coming mission, except for Wally who was wondering how he could best impress Miss Martian or Wonder Girl. "We're approaching Santa Prisca." Miss Martian announced. Everyone got ready. Shark sat in his seat with his mask hanging on the back of his neck. "Drop Zone A in thirty." Megan reported.

Aqualad stood up and pushed a button on his belt. His suit darkened with his pants becoming black and his top changing from red to dark grey. This was special stealth tech that most of the team had in their suits. "Ready." Kaldur said to Miss Martian who nodded. A hole opened in the floor of the Bio Ship and Aqualad dived down into the ocean below. Kaldur swam swiftly and quickly around the depth charges and used his water-bearers to slice through the net that was in the water around Santa Prisca. He leapt onto the shore and ran to a heat and motion sensor device that was on the beach. He placed an override device on top of the sensor and waited a few seconds until he heard a ping, signaling that it had worked. "Heat and motion sensors are patched, the data is now on a continuous loop." Aqualad reported through the team's comlink. "It is now safe to move in."

"Good work." Red X said as the Bio Ship headed for the second drop zone while Aqualad made his way to the previously agreed upon rendezvous point.

"Drop Zone B." Miss Martian announced as the Bio Ship hovered in the air over the jungle.

Everyone stood up from their seats. Kid Flash pushed his insignia, which changed his suit into black and grey colors, and looked at Miss Martian. "How cool is this?" He asked.

"Very impressive." Megan commented before shifting her outfit into a black suit that covered her body with a red X on the front and a hood on her cape.

Donna pressed the W on her belt, which caused her suit to change as well. It was now black with the belt and stars being silver. "Now this is cool." She smirked.

"Hey, X, you sure you don't want to put on the stealth tech?" Kid Flash asked their team leader.

Red X smirked as he pulled his mask over his face. "Capes and spandex aren't really my style." He replied. "I'll stick with my suit."

"And it totally works for you." Miss Martian commented dreamily. Red X looked at Miss Martian, causing her to realize that she had just said that out loud. "That you can totally do good work in those clothes." She finished hastily.

Red X raised an eyebrow but didn't comment and looked the other way. Megan was extremely embarrassed that she had almost been caught by her secret crush so she pulled her hood over her head and literally turned invisible to hide her bright red face. Donna, on the other hand, was highly amused by Megan's misfortunate.

Repelling lines lowered from the ceiling for Robin and Kid Flash to use, who hooked the lines to their belts. The teens silently lowered down to the jungle floor below.

"Alright, people, remember to keep an eye on your surroundings and remain silent." Red X reminded the group. "Don't do anything reckless." He looked directly at Wally when he said this.

Kid Flash blinked in confusion. "What?" He asked in annoyance but Shark just turned his head back towards the forest and pushed the comlink in his ear.

"Aqualad, rendezvous with us as soon as possible, use Robin's GPS to find us and make sure you aren't seen any the enemy." Red X said through the comlink.

"_Roger that."_ Aqualad replied through the earpiece. He was currently climbing cliff wall on the way to the jungle forest. _"I'll see you in a few."_

The larger group made their way quietly through the forest until Red X heard something thanks to his super hearing. "Wait, do you hear that?" He asked as he had the group stop.

"Uh no, is this one of those super hearing things?" Kid Flash asked.

"You do have great ears." Miss Martian commented but Red X just ignored the statement.

"Robin…" He said, which was all that needed to be said.

Robin checked his holographic GPS and noticed several red dots moving towards each other on the screen. "There are two groups converging just ahead of us." He reported.

Shark nodded. "Vanish into the forest and box them in. Watch their movements to start and wait until Robin gives the signal to engage them. Make sure that no one escapes." He ordered and the group nodded.

As they vanished into different areas of the forest, they heard the sounds of gunfire. Bane and his men had returned in the hopes of retaking their factory from the Cult of Kobra and were currently engaged in a gun fight with one of the patrols. Bane was hold a submachine gun and was back to being his normal size as Kobra had once again taken away his Venom container.

Kid Flash was sprinting towards his assigned area until he slipped on a rock and tumbled over. "Oh shit." He said as he started involuntarily rolling down the sandy hill, the gun noises getting louder.

The other young heroes had gotten into position and were awaiting Robin's signal but just as the Boy Wonder was going to give the signal, he saw Kid Flash tumbling towards the enemy's location. "Smooth move, Wally." Robin groaned.

Robin wasn't the only one who had noticed. Red X mentally cursed when he saw the hotheaded speedster. "Why am I not surprised?" He muttered to himself as he prepared to move in.

The two factions ceased firing at each other when they heard grunting and other sounds coming from the forest before Kid Flash tumbled out between them. Wally looked up at the surprised masked criminal and chuckled sheepishly. "Uh, so much for being stealthy." He said mostly to himself.

Bane responded by raising his weapon and firing at the young hero, already guessing why Kid Flash was on the island. Kid Flash quickly got to his feet, evading the laser fire, while also sprinting towards the red robed men, who were also shooting at him. As Bane and his men returned their attention to fighting the robed men, Donna dashed out of the forest and speared Bane in the side, tackling him to the ground. Bane was not one to be taken down so easily and countered the move, pinning the young Amazon to the ground face first restraining her arm from behind. Bane's eyes widened in surprise as the young woman was far stronger than she looked or he had excepted. She was able to push herself back up to her feet and then pushed backwards, in the process slamming Bane into the ground.

'_She must be an Amazon.'_ Bane thought as he remembered hearing about Wonder Woman having recently acquired a sidekick. He grunted and was forced to release his grip on her just enough that Donna was able to break free and flip back to her feet. Bane started to get up only to end up kissing the bottom of Donna's foot as she kicked him in the face, sending him flying into a tree.

Donna smirked but didn't have much time to enjoy her victory as lasers started being fired at her by two of Bane's men. The Amazon used the gauntlets on her wrists to deflect the blasts until Red X appeared out of nowhere in front of the men and gave each a powerful lariat with his arms. These caused the men to fly backwards into the trees.

"Nice work on staying hidden, Walter." Red X stated as Kid Flash wheel kicked a goon into the ground.

"Hey, it's not my fault that this island isn't Kid Flash friendly." Wally argued. "I'm not psychic!" He emphasized this by poking his head while the sounds of more fighting could be heard. The three looked to see three hooded men come tumbling back into the area next to a tree while a fourth was slammed into said tree. Robin and Miss Martian both landed in front of the downed goon while Kid Flash looked at them before looking back at Red X. "Well only two of you are." He finished.

"No, but you are clumsy. Not to mention you don't always watch where you are going." Shark commented as Donna and Aqualad joined them with Bane and the other goons that tried to run away in tow.

A few minutes later, all of the goons as well as Bane were tied to trees as the team young heroes stood guard over them. "These robed guys are members of the Cult of Kobra." Robin explained. "Batman and I have had to deal with them a few times and they are a very dangerous group of extremists. The other guy is Bane, the guy that nearly ended Batman's crime fighting career a while back. I'd be willing to bet that Kobra is the reason for the stop in Venom being exported off the island."

"And I am sure that Batman would have informed us if he knew about this." Aqualad added.

"That means that this mission is far more dangerous that the League original thought it would be." Red X commented.

"We get it." Kid Flash said impatiently. "Kobra wanted super cultists. Mystery solved. Let's radio Bats and we'll be home in time for-" but was interrupted by Red X.

"Kobra isn't using the Venom, they're hording it." Red X countered. "We're not done here until we know why."

"So what do you suggest we do now?" Wonder Girl asked.

"We need to get into that factory." Red X announced.

"Perhaps I could be of service." Bane said from where he was restrained. "I happen to have a secret entrance that I'd be happy to lead you to."

Miss Martian and Red X both sensed that he was up to something. Miss Martian knelt down so she was eyelevel with Bane. "There is a secret entrance but he's hiding something." She informed the group as her eyes began to glow white.

"Ah, ah, ah, chica, Bane is not that easy." Bane teased as he shielded his mind from her.

Megan closed her eyes in frustration. "He's mental reciting football scores in Spanish." She sadly told the others. "It'll take time for me to get what we need."

"Time is something we really don't have a lot of." Donna commented.

"It's not very complicated." Bane informed them. "The enemy of my enemy is my friend."

Red X wasn't buying it so he stepped forward. "Nice try, Bane." He said as he roughly picked up the Latino and slammed him back against the tree. "But I'll just take what we need." Shark's eyes began to glow red. Bane's eyes widened in shock as his eyes also began to glow as Shark forcibly took the information he needed. Bane slumped into unconsciousness as Red X dropped him to the ground. "I have the information."

"How did you do that?" Miss Martian asked surprised that he had easily been able to retrieve the information while she couldn't.

"He expected you to have mental powers, not me, and, no offense meant by this but you're gentle by nature so he could tell that you wouldn't be as rough as the Martian Manhunter." Red X replied. "I, on the other hand, wasn't as nice with him."

Miss Martian blushed at Red X's comment about her being gentle.

_**Meanwhile, inside the factory,**_

Kobra was observing the factory creation of the new Kobra Venom. "Lord Kobra, he approaches." The minion standing next to him stated.

"Activate the radio jamming net." Lord Kobra ordered in a calm tone. "I don't want anything to interfere with this transaction."

_**Back with the team,**_

Red X led the group to an outcropping overlooking the factory. Robin pulled out his binoculars to get a better look and saw that Kobra had moved a number of large crates out onto the landing platform. "Whoa, look at all that product!" He said in surprise. "A buy has to be going down right now for them to have that much out there! But if Kobra's not selling to the usual suspects…"

"Then we need to identify whoever the new buyer is." Aqualad finished.

"That's just what I was thinking." Kid Flash said.

Robin snickered. "Yeah, you're the thinker."

"Dude, now is not the time for sarcasm." Kid Flash said.

Donna stepped between them. "Knock it off, boys. We need to get some answers if we want to figure out what's going on here." She said.

Red X had left the group and was pushing a boulder out from in front of Bane's secret entrance. "I have a feeling that we'll find answers through here." He told the group as they took notice of the tunnel.

Red X led them down the tunnel to a secret door way and pressed the button to open it. It led them into a closet that was pretty much empty. Robin poked his head out the door and took a look around. "We're clear." He announced.

The group quickly and quickly made their way into the factory. Red X noticed the observation area overlooking the factory. "Robin, Kid Flash, go and take the observation area, get some info on what these guys are up to. Megan, I need you to create a telepathic communication link between all of us. We're going silent." He instructed the group quietly.

Megan nodded and her eyes glowed for a few seconds while Robin and Kid Flash made their way to the observation area. _"Can everyone here me?"_ She asked telepathically.

"_Yup."_ Shark replied.

"_Yes."_ Aqualad answered.

"_Uh-huh."_ Robin replied

"_I hear you."_ Donna answered.

"_You know it beautiful."_ Kid Flash flirted.

"_Focus on what you're doing, Walter."_ Shark growled as he, Donna, Aqualad and Miss Martian moved closer to the enemy. They went up to the rafters in the ceiling to get a better look while Robin took out the Kobra agent in the observation area with knockout gas before starting to hack the computers.

"_It's a massive shipment."_ Aqualad commented.

"_Yeah, but why are they only taking the new stuff and ignoring all of the stuff already made?"_ Donna wondered.

"_Best guess is the new stuff is something different."_ Red X replied but then he heard something thanks to his super hearing. _"There's a helicopter coming."_

Just then, Robin finished hacking the computers. _"I'm in."_ He told them.

"What've you got?" Kid Flash asked as he walked over and took a look over Robin's shoulder.

"Chemical formulas," Robin replied as he worked. They weren't bothering to use the telepathic link at the moment with each other since they were alone. "I'm guess it involves Venom but there's something weird about it."

Robin pulled up the data to show Wally, as the young speedster pulled out a snack to recharge. "That one's Venom," he said pointing to the first chemical, "and the other is," his eyes widened when Robin pulled it up as they both recognized the formula, "whoa, the Blockbuster Formula from Cadmus!" The screen showed the two being mixed together. "Properly mixed together, Kobra's new stuff is three time stronger than Venom and permanent. But how the hell did Kobra get access to information on Project Blockbuster?"

"I'll bet whoever Kobra's mysterious buyer is also Kobra's supplier, using the cult to make a Venom/Blockbuster super formula." Robin said as he stood up from his seat. _"X did you get all that?"_ He asked through the link.

"_Yeah, I did and you two are lucky that the enemy didn't have bugs in the observation room."_ Red X scolded them for being so reckless.

_**Outside on the landing platform,**_

The helicopter had landed and the buyer prepared to disembark. The door opened and the buyer was revealed to be the supervillain known as Sportsmaster. Sportsmaster walked up to Lord Kobra as the members of Kobra stood at the ready should anything happen. "Lord Kobra…" The supervillain said respectfully.

"Sportsmaster, the shipment is ready." The cult leader informed his buyer. Shimmer stepped forward, holding a small box and opened it revealing it to have a number of vials with Kobra Venom within.

Sportsmaster took out a vial and held it close to his face, as if he were inspecting it. "The new Kobra Venom…?" He asked.

"It was a complete success." Lord Kobra replied gesturing to Mammoth who was standing behind him to his right. "Our friends will not be disappointed."

Sportsmaster couldn't help but chuckle excitedly. "This is a major league game changer." He stated. "With this, we'll be able to go mono-e-mono with the Justice League."

Unbeknownst to the villains, Miss Martian was in her camouflage mode hovering overhead. _"X, I'm sending you a telepathic image of the buyer now."_ She said as her eyes glowed but no one could see it.

_**Back inside the factory,**_

Red X was kneeling down while the others awaited his verdict. He received the image and was surprised by what he saw. "Sportsmaster," he whispered out loud, "he's the buyer?" Red X immediately tapped his comlink, knowing that they had all the info the Justice League would need. "X to Tornado, do you read me?" He asked but all he received in response was static. _"Damn, I should've realized that they would've activated some sort of jamming device once the buyer arrived."_ Red X grumbled to himself.

"_What's the plan?"_ Donna asked.

"_We have to stop Sportsmaster from leaving with the Kobra Venom and destroy the factory as well as the samples."_ Robin said. _"There's no telling what could happen if this stuff hits the street."_

"_I can probably guess what would happen but don't destroy all of the samples."_ Red X instructed the team, much to their surprise. They thought he was crazy until he explained his reasoning. _"We'll need a few samples if we want to come up with a possible Anti-Kobra Venom just to be on the safe side."_

"_Good point."_ Donna said with a grin. But that was as far as they got in their planning.

"RAH!" the group heard coming from below them. They looked down to see Bane attacking two of the Kobra goons. One of the goons fired off his machine gun, alert those outside that there was trouble in the factory.

"_What is he doing here?"_ Aqualad asked.

Red X smacked his forehead feeling stupid. _"I should've realized that those ropes wouldn't be able to hold someone like Bane."_ He replied. _"He's most likely here for his Venom."_

"RRRAAAHHH!" They heard from behind time. They looked just in time to watch Mammoth come crashing through the wall. The monster landed on the overhang the heroes were on, causing it to break and the heroes to fall to the ground.

Luckily they all landed gracefully on their feet. _"Robin, download all the data from the computers."_ Red X ordered. _"Then go disable the helicopter so Sportsmaster can't leave. Kid Flash, get your ass down here."_

"Destroy them!" Lord Kobra commanded his followers as Kid Flash joined Red X, Aqualad and Wonder Girl down on the ground. Mammoth roared and charged towards the heroes and Bane.

"Dibs on the ugly one!" Donna shouted and flew straight for Mammoth. She hit him square in the gut but barely pushed him back. Mammoth then grabbed hold of Donna as they began to fight.

Aqualad pulled out his water-bearers and used one to form a shield and the other to shot globs of water at the Kobra goons that were firing their machine guns at him. Red X and Kid Flash used their super speed to dodge the bullet and take out as many goons as they could.

Bane chuckled to himself as he watched the team of young heroes battle against the goons of the Cult of Kobra.

As Sportsmaster, Shimmer and Lord Kobra entered the factory to watch, Sportsmaster felt something pass over head and briefly caught a glimpse of Miss Martian as she used her psychic powers to take out Kobra goons, even though she was in camouflage mode. He took a look at who was present, watching as Donna and Mammoth with at it and Aqualad used his water-bearer. Taking all this into account, he pulled a retractable spike from his side and threw it where he had managed to catch a glimpse of Miss Martian.

Megan saw the spike coming and move just out of the way only for the spike to explode right in front of her. The explosion caused her to become visible and crash into the top of a chemical tank. Miss Martian wasn't seriously hurt but she still needed a second to shake to cobwebs from her head.

"_We need to regroup!"_ Red X ordered as Aqualad hid behind a metal column and Kid Flash took down two more goons.

"_Agreed."_ Aqualad stated.

"_Busy now!"_ Robin retorted.

_**Outside the factory,**_

Robin jumped down in front of Lord Kobra and Shimmer. Lord Kobra was not impressed. "Batman must be desperate if he sends his whelp to stop me." The cult leader said.

"What's wrong, Koby?" Robin asked teasingly. "You look disconcerted."

Kobra almost looked bored. "This is beneath me. Shimmer, take him." He ordered the young woman, who immediately rushed towards Robin to engage him in a fight.

Robin flipped over her and prepared to fight back. _"That was an order, not a suggestion, Robin!"_ Red X growled telepathically making it very clear that their retreat was not up for discussion. Robin was reluctant to listen but did so anyway. He pulled out a flash bomb and used it to cover his escape when Shimmer ran towards him again.

_**Back inside,**_

The team was fighting their way through the factory, taking down more goons as they went. Aqualad was using his water-bearers to create whips of water to take out the cultists while Red X used his energy blasts to destroy their weapons. _"Kid, clear us a path."_ Red X ordered.

Kid Flash immediately took out every cultist in the way of the group reaching Bane's secret entrance. Aqualad, Robin and Miss Martian followed Kid Flash through the tunnel while Red X waited for Wonder Girl to dispatch Mammoth by throwing the creature into a group of advancing Kobra goons. The two ran into the tunnel with Donna slamming the door shut. Red X blasted the support beams right by the door, blocking it off and preventing Mammoth from following them. "We should be safe for now." Red X said as the team was able to stop running.

"Good job on being a team leader, X." Robin commented sarcastically. "So far all you've managed to do is get us data, prevent the enemy from leaving and forcing us to retreat when we could've taken them down."

Shark narrowed his eyes at Robin. "I had you disable the helicopter in case we had to retreat." He revealed, surprising Robin. "And we might have been able to take them down but, thanks to Bane's interference, it could've resulted in someone getting hurt or worse. Now, I don't know about you, Robin, but I do not want to have to explain to Batman and the Justice League why one of our team members wound up dead on our very first assigned mission."

"Oh…" Robin said, his ego somewhat deflated.

Shark sighed. "Missions can be replaced. Lives cannot. That is why I had us retreat. The moment Bane gave away our element of surprise the battle was pretty much lost since we weren't really prepared for having to deal with a creature like Mammoth or the Cult of Kobra when we started this mission." He explained.

"I was handling Mammoth just fight, X." Donna stated thinking that Shark was questioning her ability to handle the monster.

Shark smiled under his mask. "I know you were Donna, but what was to stop more of the cultists from using the Kobra Venom to transform as well?"

The others immediately realized where Red X was going with this statement. "So you had us pull back to prevent anyone from thinking of that possibility." Aqualad guess and Shark nodded.

"First thing we need to do now is get out of this cave and deal with Bane so he can't get in our way again." Red X informed the group.

"Any clue as to why Bane gave us away?" Kid Flash asked Shark, who nodded his head.

"When I read his mind earlier, I saw that he was planning on helping us so that he could expose us and get his hands on some Venom." Red X explained. "Then while he safely hid, he hoped that either we took down Kobra for him or that the cultists would kill us."

"The latter of the two would result in the entire Justice League storming the island!" Donna said realizing what Bane planned.

Robin had also caught on to Bane's thinking. "He wanted the League to take care of Kobra so that he would be able to take back control of the factory once they were gone!"

"This time, we'll deal with Bane and then the cultists." Red X said as he led the team through the tunnel.

_**Back on the landing pad,**_

Sportsmaster was trying to leave with the shipment only to find that the helicopter wasn't working. "Someone sabotaged it." He said as he got out.

Lord Kobra sighed in annoyance. "Robin is no doubt behind this." He replied before looking at Shimmer. "Find the problem and fix it." Shimmer nodded and got to work.

One of the cultists stepped up to Lord Kobra. "Lord Kobra, should we begin searching the jungle for the intruders?"

"Why bother looking for them when we know that they will return." Lord Kobra replied before heading back into the factory.

_**Back in the tunnel,**_

The group was running towards the exit, going over what they had learned so far. "Sportsmaster is the supply/buyer but it still doesn't make sense." Robin said. "He doesn't have the juice to acquire the Blockbuster formula or to get Kobra to work for him."

"And neither of them have the chops to bond Blockbuster and Venom together, that takes a major nerd to do." Kid Flash added.

"I believe the expression is 'tip of the iceberg'." Aqualad commented as they got close to the exit.

"I having a feeling that 'tip of the iceberg' is an understatement." Red X commented before Bane stepped in their path.

Bane was now bulked up by the power of Venom as he dropped several empty injectors. "Halt _niños, I'm feeling explosive." He told them revealing that he was holding a detonator. The team looked above them to see that there were explosives lining the ceiling._

_"Kid, you'll need a running start."__ Shark told Kid Flash telepathically. Wally slowly started creeping backwards. "I'm surprised that you had the balls to show your face after what you did back there, Bane." Red X growled as he narrowed his eyes at the masked criminal._

"It's nothing personal but I want my factory back." Bane explained not noticing that Kid Flash was backing up. "So I forced you into a situation where you would either take down my enemies or die trying." He smirked before continuing. "If the latter were to happen, the Justice League would certainly have come to avenge their beloved sidekicks. Once the smoke cleared from that battle, Santa Prisca would be mine once more." He held up the trigger. "Blowing the tunnel with you inside should have the same effect." He didn't notice that as he said this, Kid Flash whizzed by him and took the detonator. Bane tried to push the button only to feel nothing in his hand.

"With what?" Kid Flash asked from behind Bane. Bane looked to see that Kid Flash had the trigger. "This trigger-thingy?"

Bane roared angrily and tried to attack the teen speedster only to be yanked into the air by some invisible force. Megan held out her left hand as she held Bane in the air as Red X stood beneath him, cracking his knuckles. Red X pulled his fist back. "Drop him." He told Megan, who complied. Megan lowered her hand and Bane fell towards Red X. The last thing Bane saw was Red X's fist before said fist connected with his face, knocking him out.

_**On the landing platform,**_

The repairs to the helicopter were finally complete and the engine was being started up. "The repairs are complete, exalted one." A Kobra goon reported with a bow to Lord Kobra.

Sportsmaster headed for the helicopter only to stop when Kid Flash came sprinting through, mowing down as many of the Kobra Cultists as he could. The cultists tried to stop the speedster from interfering.

"Take the shipment!" Lord Kobra told Sportsmaster who didn't argue.

Donna then landed on the battle field with a thud. "Care to go again?" She asked Mammoth with a smirk. Mammoth growled before running forward. Just as he had reached the Amazon, a powerful stream of water slammed into the creature, pushing him away from Donna. "Sorry but that's not part of the plan." Donna said with a smile as she turned to Aqualad who was controlling the stream of water with his water-bearers.

Sportsmaster came around the helicopter and started firing an energy rifle at Donna who used her wrist gantlets to block to blasted, but was still pushed backwards. Miss Martian invisibly snuck aboard the helicopter as she watched Donna starting to have a hard time keeping up with the blasts. Megan went to help her teammate, only for Sportsmaster to smack her to the ground, flip over her and wrap his arm around the now visible Miss Martian's neck. This prevented Donna from attempting to take Sportsmaster down.

Kid Flash dashed in front of Lord Kobra and Shimmer, punching a cultist in the face. Wally ripped off the mask and hood. "Souvenir!" He said excitedly before dashing off again.

Shimmer was about to join the fight but was restrained by a rope that wrapped itself around her body. This caused Shimmer to fall over. Lord Kobra looked to where the rope had come from and saw Robin. "I know you hate to get your hands dirty." Robin smirked.

"True," Kobra said as he removed his robe, revealing his albino skin, "but sometimes, even a god must stoop to conquer."

Robin rushed forward and tried to knee Kobra in the face but the cult leader easily blocked the attack, surprising Robin. Robin then tried a spin kick to Kobra's head but his ankle was caught by the villain's left hand. Kobra then kicked Robin backwards.

Kobra calmly stood with his hands behind his back looking at Robin with no emotions. "What's wrong boy?" He asked mockingly. "You look disconcerted."

Kid Flash was making quick work of the cultists while Aqualad held off Mammoth. He put away one of his water-bearers and generated electricity into that free hand before adding the water to the stream, electrocuting Mammoth. Mammoth collapsed from the shock.

Sportsmaster continued to fire at Donna as he backed up into the helicopter. "Thanks for the workout but I've gotta fly." Sportsmaster said before throwing Megan into Donna, causing the two girls to fall to the ground.

The helicopter rose into the air as Donna and Megan watched, not even trying to stop it. Megan then held up Bane's trigger from his explosives, she had planted a bomb on the shipment crates. Megan pushed the button and the bomb went off.

Sportsmaster shook as the helicopter erupted in flames. He looked below to see the factory coming closer so he did the only thing he could to survive: he bailed out. As he fell to the jungle below, he opened up the parachute he had managed to slip onto his back.

The flaming helicopter spun out of control and crashed into the factory. The resulting explosion destroyed the entire factory and all of the Venom that was stored within. Bane could see the explosion from where he was and gritted his teeth in anger as there was nothing he could do.

Robin was getting knocked around by Kobra, who was not pleased by the factory's destruction and had his foot pinning Robin down on the group. "I am plagued by mosquitoes." He growled in annoyance.

"Excuse me." A voice said tapping Kobra on the shoulder. Kobra looked only to be punched in the face. The punch caused Kobra to fall to the ground. "It seems you've forgotten that mosquitoes have quite the bite." Red X said as he stood over Kobra. Red X had two small cases in his left hand. Robin joined X as Kobra got to his feet.

Realizing that this was not a fight he could win, Kobra decided to retreat. "We'll finish this another time." He said as he backed into the jungle and disappeared into the shadows.

Robin was about to go after him but Shark stopped him. "Let him go, Robin. He's already too far away to catch." He and Robin went over to the others. "By the way, sorry for making you go through that but I had to make sure I got the sample we'd need."

"It's alright." Robin said. "Besides, you also had to make sure the factory was ready to blow and that the helicopter crashed into the factory, not the jungle." He smirked at the damage that had been done. "And since you're the leader of this team, that means you have to explain this mess to Batman." Robin declared before laughing at Shark's misfortune.

Shark groaned as he was reminded of that. "It's been nice knowing you, Shark." Donna teased.

_**The Next Day, at Mount Justice,**_

The team stood in a line in front of Batman who was pacing angrily in front of them. The team was once again in their civilian clothes. "You were sent on a simple recon mission to observe and report yet you all seemed fit to solve the issue yourself." Batman stated in a calm yet harsh tone as he glared at Shark, whose expression remained calm and stoic. "You'll each receive a written evaluation, detailing the many mistakes you made but until then… good job." Batman said surprising them minus Shark who had a small smile on his face.

Robin was the most surprised of them all. "Good job? What, no being grounded for a week with no missions or being put on parole?" He asked his mentor who shook his head.

"No." Batman replied before explaining his reason. "Apparently I chose correctly when I put Shark in charge of this team. If there's one thing he seems to understand is that no matter how skilled you are, there will be times when a mission does not going according to plan. Being able to quickly adapt to the unorthodox is something a leader must be able to do, no matter what the situation."

"There are no weak soldiers under a strong commander." Shark said getting everyone's attention. "That was one of the first lessons I learn in squad training at Cadmus. Leaders need to be more than just powerful, they need to be clear minded, focused, and should the need arise be the last to flee in order to make sure his comrades live to see another day, even if it means he or she doesn't." Shark looked at his team and Batman. "As I said in the tunnel: Missions can be replaced. Lives cannot." Batman nodded in approval.

Donna then realized something. "That's why you waited for me when you ordered the retreat." She said. "You wanted to make sure that nothing happened and if something did, you'd be right there to help."

"Exactly." Shark nodded.

"You can all learn a lot from him." Batman told the group. "What Shark said is true and there will be times when a leader must make the ultimate sacrifice for the team and hopefully none of you will have to experience that so long as you work as a team." He then walked away.

"Man, being the leader sounds a lot heard that the name suggests." Robin commented. "I honestly thought that with my experience and being partners with Batman for so long, that I'd be ready."

"Hey, don't worry about it, Robin. One day you will all be ready to be a leader. No one is born a leader; it is a title that you have to earn." He told them, getting nods of acknowledgement. "Now then which one of you thinks you have what it takes to beat by score in Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2?" He challenged receiving a grin from Robin and Kid Flash.

"You are so on!" Kid Flash replied as he zipped to the entertainment room along with Shark and Robin going after him laughing and Aqualad following as well but at a calmer pace.

Donna sighed and shook her head at the boys. "Boys and their toys…" She said before turning to Megan. "Wanna try that brownie recipe we saw on the food channel?"

Megan nodded excitedly. "Of course, I just hope Shark will like them." She answered.

Donna raised an eyebrow and grin mischievously at the female Martian. "Wow, Meg, you've really got it bad for Shark, don't you?" She teased, making the female Martian blush up a storm.

"N-no I don't!" Megan exclaimed. "I'm just trying to be nice to him, that's all!"

The teenage Amazon snickered at Megan's attempted excuse. "Whatever you say, Megster, but you better be careful." Donna warned. "If you keep acting like this, I just might steal him from right under your nose." She then grinned mischievously. "That or we could _share_ him if he's interested in _both_ of us." Donna's statement caused Megan's entire face to glow red, resulting in the female Martian doing the only thing she could: She turned invisible. Donna erupted in laughter at Megan's misfortunate.

_**Meanwhile, at an unknown location,**_

Sportsmaster stood before the monitors that provided communication with the leaders of the Light. "All I managed to recover is a single vial of Kobra Venom." He reported.

"It can be used to reverse engineer more of the chemical but we have a problem," one of the Light members said with a thick accent, "first Cadmus, then Mister Twister and now Santa Prisca."

"Once is happenstance, twice is coincidence but three times is enemy action and enemies of the Light must be eliminated." Another member of the Light declared to the group.

**To Be Continued…**

_**Author's Note**__**: So far I've decided on a few people for the harem but I'm still not sure on a few. Let me know if you have any suggestions on the harem members or how to bring the girls into the harem.**_

_**Definitely**__**: Miss Martian, Wonder Girl (Donna Troy), Artemis, Ravager (Rose Wilson) and Supergirl (Kara Zor-El)**_

_**Considering**__**: Batgirl (Cassandra Cain), Indigo, Mary Marvel, Raven (Rachel Roth), Zatanna and Princess Audrey of Kasnia or another Princess who Red X rescues**_

_**If I can find a way for it to work**__**: Black Canary, Power Girl or another of the older heroines.**_


	4. Chapter 4: Getting Schooled

_**Author's Note**__**: I have been getting requests from people to update sooner than I have been but I need to remind the readers that I am also working on other stories and have a short attention span. I work on stories when I have the inspiration to which is why my updates take so long. I appreciate the support this story has and hope that you understand.**_

**Young Justice**

**Chapter 4: Getting Schooled**

_**August 3, Metropolis,**_

Red X, wearing his hero outfit with a black duster jacket over it, stood on top of the pole on a skyscraper with his eyes closed. He was balanced perfected on the tip with one foot on it. He was focusing intently on using the enhanced hearing he had gained from Superman's DNA to pick up on what was going on in the city below. He could hear several radio frequencies, people conversations and vehicles driving through the streets. So far he was doing pretty well in figuring out how to adjust his hearing, otherwise he'd probably be writhing in agony or be going crazy from all the different sounds that would travel through his train of thought.

His attention was suddenly grabbed by the sound of snapping bridge cables, cars screeching and people screaming. Shark's eyes snapped open. "That's my cue." He said to himself before taking off into the sky, heading for the bridge that the noises were coming from.

Superman made it to the bridge just in time to prevent a portion of it from collapsing and was using his heat vision to weld metal bars together. "Need a hand?" A familiar voice asked Superman.

The Man of Steel stopped was he was doing and looked to see Red X floating in front of him with his arms folded in front of his chest. Superman smirked at seeing the young hero respond so quickly. "I've got this one. Think you can handle pulling those vehicles from edge?" He asked.

"You got it, boss." Red X said with a salute before he floated up to the bridge and started lifting vehicles to safety. Just as he finished with a vehicle with a young couple in it, a school bus suddenly started to fall further off the bridge. The children were screaming in fear when Shark grabbed the back of the bus and started to pull the bus back. The bus was pretty close to falling off when X grabbed on so he skidded forward a little but managed to get it under control and pulled the bus to safety. "That was close." He commented until he noticed another vehicle about to go over. "Oh shit!" He rushed over but was a split second to slow and the car started to go over the ledge.

Fortunately, Superman had finished his welding and caught the car before it hit the water and safely brought it back onto the bridge. "That was a close one." Red X said to Superman. "I really didn't want to have them drowning staying on my conscious."

Superman smiled at Shark's attempt to remain as modest as possible. "Don't sell yourself short, X. You've done an excellent job so far especially when you stopped Solomon Grundy's rampage through Gotham a few weeks back but you might want to work on lowering the amount of property damage you cause."

Shark chuckled sheepishly. "Yeah but most of the damage was Grundy's doing. He was chucking cars at me like there was no tomorrow, the dude had a one track mind. And let's not forget that little problem he has of referring to himself in the third person." He replied.

Superman nodded as he had faced Grundy before. "Not all of our enemies are as… simple-minded as Grundy but you've improved a lot in these last few weeks in controlling your flight, speed, strength and other abilities." The Kryptonian hero paused when his comlink started beeping and pressed it. "This is Superman… Whoa, Arrow, slow down! What's attacking?" Shark raised an eyebrow as Superman listened. "No, I'm definitely available. What are your coordinates? Alright, I'm on my way." Superman turned to Red X. "Sorry, X, but I'm going to have to cut this conversation short. Duty calls." He explained.

"It's alright." Red X said calmly and watched as Superman took off.

_**Five Hours later, at Mount Justice,**_

Kid Flash and Aqualad were playing a game of virtual air hockey with Robin, Wonder Girl and Miss Martian watched when the Zeta Beam Tube activated. **"Recognize: Red X B04."** The computer announced before Shark appeared in the base. Shark had changed out of his uniform and was wearing blue jeans and a black t-shirt underneath his duster jacket.

"Hey Shark, how was Metropolis?" M'gann asked with a smile.

Shark shrugged his shoulders. "Oh you know the usual: did some patrolling, stopped a few jewel thieves and helped Superman stop a bridge from collapsing." He replied like it was an everyday occurrence, which it kind of was in a way, as he removed his jacket. "How about you?"

Donna couldn't help but smirk as Megan blushed at how well toned and lean Shark's body was thanks to his muscles, though Donna found that she too couldn't help but glance at him.

"Not much, just working on improving that brownie recipe I used after our last mission." Megan replied, trying to fight down her blush as well as to keep from checking him out, while Shark smirked.

"I don't really see why you'd need to improve on them." Shark commented truthfully. "You did an amazing job with the last batch you had made. You seem to have a natural talent for cooking."

Shark's praise caused Megan's blush on her face to increase. "Thanks." She said shyly as she brushed her hair back slightly while she also turned away so he couldn't see the blush she was sporting.

Wally, on the other hand, could see this and was more than just a little peeved. "Hey, Rob, how is it that Shark can get Megan to act so shy and girly around him?" He asked in a whisper.

Robin couldn't help but grin at how jealous Wally was. "It's quite simple, Wally. Shark actually means what he's saying to her and doesn't act like an idiot with his lame attempts to flirt. You, on the other hand, are a dog. Woof, woof." Robin replied with a snicker.

"Dude!" Wally hissed in embarrassment at the boy wonder.

The Zeta Beam Tube hummed again and three more people arrive, all adults, two females and one male. "Hello, everyone, I hope you're ready for training." One of the females said.

"Black Canary, Uncle J'onn!" Megan said excited to see her uncle again.

"Diana!" Donna exclaimed, happy to see her older sister.

Black Canary was an attractive young woman, with long blonde hair and a slender yet toned build. She was wearing her well known distinctive costume that consisted of a black, one-piece bustier-leotard combination that covered most of her ample breasts but still showed plenty of cleavage with a blue jacket over it, grey stockings with seams up the front and back, heavy black calf-length boots, black fingerless gloves that go past the elbow to the bicep, and a black choker on her neck.

The Martian Manhunter, Megan's uncle J'onn J'onzz, was currently in his more Earth friendly form which was a tall, green-skinned humanoid. His head was completely bald, and his face was oddly proportioned, with heavy brows, thick lips and red eyes. His costume was primarily black, with red accents, and a large red belt and x-shaped straps across his chest. He was also wearing a blue cape that was fastened by gold clips.

Diana Prince, better known to the world as Wonder Woman, was a tall, slender beautiful woman with visible muscles. She had long dark flowing hair that reached her middle back, baby blue eyes, and wore a golden tiara with a red star in the center that helped to keep her hair out of her eyes. She had red lips and wore a tight red half shirt covered her breasts that had ornamental gold on the front in the form of two 'W' one above the other. A golden belt held her tight dark blue mini pants, with white stars, that covered her round backside leaving her thighs exposed. Red boots with a white outline going down to the front and back covered her feet and legs up to just below her knees. She had silver gauntlets on her wrists and a magic golden lasso attached onto her belt.

Megan gave her uncle a warm hug which he returned. "M'gann." J'onn said with pride in his voice. "I was in the neighborhood and thought I'd drop by to see how you are adjusting."

"A few bumps and bruises but I'm learning." Megan informed her uncle.

J'onn smiled kindly at her. "That's all I can ask."

Wally, meanwhile, was staring at Black Canary and the elder Amazon Princess, until he received a smack upside the head from an annoyed Shark. "For Pete's sake, Wally, stop drooling at them and roll that tongue of yours back into your mouth. Honestly, do us all a favor and at least try to have some self-control." Shark scolded while the speedster grumbled and rubbed the back of his head while Donna and Robin snickered, getting a glare from Wally for a few seconds.

"So how many times does that make that Shark's slapped Wally upside the head?" Robin asked Donna, who was counting on her fingers.

"I think we're at 987 slaps upside the head, counting the one today before Shark left for Metropolis." Donna answered with a grin.

"Really? I only counted 852." Robin said before Donna went over to greet her sister.

"Hello little sister," Diana greeted Donna as the two hugged each other warmly before separating.

"Hey Diana, how's mother been doing?" Donna asked.

"She's doing well but misses you terribly as do the others." Diana replied. "I decided to tag along to see how you were progressing with your new team. Though, from the looks of it, you all seem to be fairing quite well."

Donna smiled. "With Red X as our leader, how could we not? It's thanks to him that we've been able to succeed in the missions we go on without too much worry or trouble." She commented.

"_That's only because I have more experience than all of you combined, Donna. But don't sell yourself short, all of you guys deserve just as much credit for our success as I do."_ Shark told Donna telepathically. The young Amazon blinked in surprise and turned to see Shark smiling at her, who then winked, causing her to blush. Diana noticed this and could barely keep herself from smirking as she began plotting on how best to tease her younger sister, considering all the times that Donna had teased her about Superman.

"Alright everyone, class is now in session." Black Canary announced getting their attention. When she walked into the center of the training area, the holographic projector around them glowed and formed a holographic fighting arena. "I consider it an honor to be your teacher." She informed the teenagers. "I'll be throwing a lot at you. Everything I've learned from my own mentors," she winced as she pulled off her jacket, "and my own bruises." Her left arm had been bandaged up since it seemed she had recently gotten into a major fight.

"Ouch, though I certainly received far more than just bruises from my training at Cadmus and I bet you have as well." Shark stated getting a nod of acknowledgement from Canary and Wonder Woman.

"Tch, what could be so bad about a few battle scars?" Kid Flash asked.

Shark sighed before answering. "Have you ever had a fist coated in raw energy shoved through the center of your chest cavity and out your back and lived?" He asked Wally, whose eyes widened in shock as did the others as they looked at Shark. He shook his head before he removed his t-shirt, revealing multiple faded scars and puncture wounds. The most prominent was an X shaped scar in the middle of his chest. "I got this from a training simulation that had no safety features so any injury that I suffered would be real. I barely survived that so-called training session, though when I was forced to go through it again, I returned the favor by ripping the creature's arms of." He said with a calm yet cold voice while he pulled his shirt back on. Megan had covered her mouth with her hands in shock while Robin, Aqualad and Donna had grimaced at the sight. Kid Flash, on the other hand, paled and had a slight green tint when he saw the wicked looking scar but that didn't prevent him from continuing to eat the banana he had in his hand.

"Hera…" Diana said to herself. While she was very familiar with battle scars, having received a few herself, the one that Shark had just shown her looked to be the worst one she had ever seen. She knew for a fact that not even Batman or Superman had a scar like that one.

Shark was getting a little uncomfortable with them looking at him. "Anyways, what were you saying, teach?" He asked Black Canary, snapping her out of her stupor.

"Right." Canary said getting back into teacher mode. "Combat is about controlling conflict, putting it on your terms. You should always be acting, never reacting, to the situation. I'll need a sparring partner for this next part."

"Right here!" Kid Flash said quickly as he raised his hand, causing Shark to shake his head. He walked forward, finished eating his banana and tossed it into a nearby trash can. "After this, I'll show you my moves." He attempted to flirt as Shark rolled his eyes and shook his head.

Black Canary just grinned as she was used to this and expected it from Kid Flash. She threw a fast right jab which Wally blocked with his forearm but Canary quickly fell into a leg sweep and took Wally's legs out from under him, causing him to fall flat on his back. The scanner on the floor beeped as it recorded Kid Flash's failure. "Oh, it hurts so good." Kid Flash groaned.

Canary extended her right hand and helped Wally back up to his feet. "Good block but did anyone see what he did wrong?" She complemented Wally before questioning the group.

"Oo! Oo! He hit on teacher and got served?" Robin replied with a grin.

"Dude!" Kid Flash said already embarrassed before Robin's comment.

Canary did not look amused by Robin's comment. "He allowed you to dictate the terms of your fight." Shark answered getting a nod of approval from Canary.

"That's correct." She said with a grin. She then motioned for Shark to step forward. "But let's see if you know how to do this properly."

Shark stepped into the arena as Kid Flash rejoined the others on the sidelines. The teacher and student stood in front of each other, staring each other down. Canary could tell by the way Shark was standing that he was calculating what she was capable of while at the same time not leaving any opening that she could exploit. Shark was watching Canary carefully as she had far more experience in fighting real opponents than he did and was used to taking on people like him, meaning she'd be ready for his powers.

The two got into fighting stances with Shark making the first move by throwing a right punch at Canary. Canary caught his arm in both hands and began to flip him over her head. Shark however, countered by grabbing Canary's right wrist and, as he landed on his feet, flipped Canary over his shoulder and onto the floor. Canary didn't miss a beat, however, as she quickly hooked her legs around Shark's neck before she hit the ground and used them to flip Shark onto the ground, while also using that momentum to roll on top of him, pinning him down.

"Not bad." Canary complimented.

Shark grinned. "Not bad yourself, although if you wanted to be the one on top, all you had to do was ask." He said, unable to resist the chance to tease, considering the position they were currently in.

Canary had to fight to keep a blush from appearing on her face as got off of Shark and helped him to his feet. She then turned to the rest of the group. "The first thing you need to know when facing an opponent is that you must always remain calm and calculative. Analyze their attack pattern, find a weakness and use it, and also to use your surroundings to your advantage, especially when facing someone who is faster or stronger that you are. No matter how strong an opponent might be, they always have a weakness." She told them. "Shark waited patiently to see if I was going to make the first move but when he realized I had no intention of doing that, he decided to take the lead. He also knew that I was able to block that first move he made and anticipated what I was going to do next, which is how he was able to make his counter so effortlessly. That is what you need to be able to do at all time."

Just then an alarm was heard throughout the cave and Batman appeared on a holographic screen. "Batman to the cave." The Dark Knight said getting everyone's attention. "Five hours ago, a new menace attacked Green Arrow and Black Canary." A smaller image appeared into top left corner of the screen. The image appeared to be that of a male humanoid with short orange hair, slightly tanned skin, pointy ears and red eyes with black sclera. "The attacker was capable of studying then duplicating the powers and abilities of its opponents." The screen widened to show the being had what looked like green pants on. Superman flew into view only to be grabbed by the being and swung around, knocking Red Tornado and Flash away before tossing Superman side and using heat vision to take out Batarangs thrown by Batman. "Arrow called in reinforcement which nearly proved disastrous as our foe gained more and more power with each new combatant." Batman explained.

"Whoa, one guy with the powers of the entire League…" Kid Flash said wide-eyed as he watched the screen.

"In the end, it took eight Leaguers 4 hours to defeat and dismantle the android." Batman announced.

"An android?" Robin asked in surprised. "W-Who made it? T. O. Morrow?"

"A good guess, Robin, but Red Tornado doesn't think so." Batman replied calmly.

"The technology bares the signature of… Professor Ivo." J'onn informed the group with a sense of dread.

"Ivo?" Aqualad asked in surprise. "But Ivo is dead."

Black Canary sighed. "So we all thought or hoped."

"He most likely faked his death so that he could work on this creation of his in peace, without having to worry about the Justice League dropping in on him before it was ready." Shark suggested.

"That appears to be the case." Batman said in agreement. "To make sure that this threat is permanently neutralized, we're sending two trucks carrying the android's parts to two separate S.T.A.R. Labs facilities in Boston and New York for immediate evaluation." The screen showed a map of the two locations. "Every precaution is being taken. We'll have four additional decoy trucks to create confusion in case Ivo or anyone else tries to recover the remains. You will split into two undercover teams and guard the two real trucks."

"Yes!" Kid Flash exclaimed. "Road trip!"

Aqualad pulled out a hand held device. "Coordinates received." He said.

"Then let's suit up and roll out." Shark told the team who nodded in agreement.

Canary stopped Shark before he left. "Be careful, if that thing gets reactivated it could try to copy your powers." She warned.

Shark nodded seriously and left to get ready.

_**That evening, in Litchfield County,**_

The remains of the android were being loaded up onto the transports with security officers as well as Superman, Batman, Red Tornado, Flash, Captain Atom and Green Arrow standing guard. Superman heard something in the nearby bushed and X-Rayed them to see the Team had arrived and were all wearing biker outfits and riding motorcycles.

"S.T.A.R. Boston is go." One of the drivers reported.

"S.T.A.R. Manhattan is go." A second driver reported.

Green Arrow nodded to Batman who then signaled the trucks to move out. The six trucks all moved out at the same time, with three starting to head for Boston and the other three heading for New York. The team broke up into two smaller teams and followed their trucks. Team 1 was Red X, Robin and Wonder Girl while Team 2 was Aqualad, Kid Flash and Miss Martian.

With the trucks on their way, the Justice League headed for home.

_**With Team 1,**_

As the Team was riding, they watched as the two decoy truck took an exit heading away from their destination. "Hey, if dislike is the opposite of like, is disaster the opposite of aster?" Robin asked his companions. "See instead of things going wrong, they go right."

Shark shook his head and chuckled. "You know, I have no idea, Robin."

Donna was also amused by Robin's question. "Only you would think to ask something like that, Boy Wonder." She commented.

"Hey, I'm just trying to make for conversation." Robin replied.

"Let just go with hoping that this mission is aster then." Shark said before revving his engine and moving closer to the truck. Donna and Robin both chuckled at Shark's statement.

_**Over with Team 2,**_

The others were riding along peacefully when Megan decided to ask them a question. "Do you think Red X is okay?" She asked. "I-I wasn't reading his mind, I swear, but I could sense a lot of worry coming from him that seemed to come off him like waves."

Kid Flashed rode up on the other side of her. "I've surfed that wave. Just give him some space." He advised before swerving closer. "Me? Stick as close as you want."

"I'm sure Shark's just worried about what might happen if the android were to be repaired and it duplicated his powers." Aqualad told Megan. "To be honest, even I'm worried about what could happen if the android did that. Hopefully, this will be a quiet mission."

Unbeknownst to Aqualad, a part of the cornfield they just passed, shook and a swarm of green robot monkeys with jetpacks came flying out of the cornstalks. The monkeys began chasing after the truck and soon began to attack it. Aqualad activated his comlink. "Aqualad to Red X, our truck is under attack!" He announced.

"_We kind of figured."_ Robin replied.

_**Team 1,**_

Their truck was also being attacked by robot monkeys. While the monkeys were trying to break into the truck, Red X created a dozen clones, half of which disappeared. "What are you doing?" Donna asked.

Shark smirked. "Clean up duty. I'm having my clones pick up any pieces of monkey we manage to take out so I can study them later." He explained. "Besides, we shouldn't litter, so I sent some to do the same for the other team."

"Robot monkeys? Ha! Ha! Totally Ivo's dweeb style," Robin announced as he activated his bike's combat mode which caused the motorcycle to split in half with the rear half becoming a flying laser cannon. "Hey, guys, switch your rides to battle mode."

Red X and Donna agreed and did as Robin suggested before jumping onto the truck. The two superpowered teens began smashing the monkeys at they attacked the heroes. All three flying laser cannons began shooting the monkeys off of the trucks but were soon taken out when a pair of monkeys landed on each and began messes with the wiring. Red X's clones were busy using their super speed to pick up all the trashed robot monkeys.

Red X himself was on top of the truck and managed to take out a good number of monkeys until one that was in his hand fired a laser from its eyes directly into his eyes. "AAAHHH!" He shouted in pain. He covered his eyes allowing for four monkeys to grab him and toss him off.

"X!" Donna shouted as she was about to go to his aid.

"STAY ON MISSION I'LL CATCH UP!" Red X bellowed. X couldn't see very well and decided to try a healing spell on his eyes that he had learned recently from a book given to him by Zatara to speed up his already accelerated healing ability, which was already at work.

_**Team 2,**_

Aqualad used his water-bearers to take out a number of robot monkeys that jumped off the truck to attack him. Kid Flash and Miss Martian switched to using their powers when the monkeys attacked their vehicles. Truck driver began to panic when the monkey's swarmed his vehicle. "Ah, somebody help!" He shouted in fear as one of the robotic smacked its head against the windshield and caused the glass to crack.

On top of the truck, the monkeys used their lasers to cut through the roof and opened the cargo area. The soldiers inside started firing their weapons at the robots but that didn't stop the monkeys from getting inside. Miss Martian floated overhead and used her telekinesis to remove the monkeys that were still on top of the truck.

Kid Flash ran alongside the truck and knocked off the monkeys that were hanging on the side while Aqualad used his water-bearers to take care of the one trying to get in from the back.

The monkeys were really starting to cause the driver to panic at they tried to get inside while a number of them swarmed onto Miss Martian who used her shape changing ability to sprout more arms all over her body to take care of the monkey. She flew in front of the truck and took out the monkeys but freaked out the driver for a second before he realized she was trying to help him.

Megan and Wally both went up to the roof of the cargo area and when Wally saw Megan with extra arms coming out of her he was startled. "AAAHHH!" He shouted in shock.

"AAAHHH!" Megan shouted as Wally's exclamation surprised her while at the same time she shifted back to normal.

A number of the monkeys that had gone inside the truck then jumped out and started attacking the two heroes while two other monkeys cut a hole in the back and flew off carrying the box containing the android parts with four other monkeys acting as escorts. Aqualad swerved his back to a stop. "Aqualad to Red X, they managed to steal the android parts." He reported.

_**Back at Team 1,**_

Robin and Donna were fighting off the monkeys when Donna was blasted by three monkeys and knocked off the truck. Robin managed to get to the roof as one of the soldiers was being flown off to the side and dropped off in the cornfield. Robin began attacking the monkeys with his eskrima fighting sticks, taking the out quickly, before more landed on the roof. Donna quickly recovered and landed on the roof with a thud causes a shock wave that knocked the monkeys off. Some of the monkeys crawled down to the wheels and used their laser eyes to cause the wheels to explode.

Robin dropped down to the driver. "Get out!" He ordered and the driver listened, with Robin making sure the driver got to safety.

The truck soon began to flip over and roll down the highway, tossing Donna off in the process. Once the truck came to a stop, the rear area was blown open from the inside and the robot monkeys exited with the box containing the android parts. Donna shook the cobwebs from her head and saw that the monkeys were getting away. She took off after them as fast as she could, ignoring Robin.

"Wonder Girl!" Robin shouted but she kept flying.

"_Red X to Robin, Aqualad's team lost their cargo, did you-?"_ The team leader started to ask over their comlink.

"It's gone and so is Wonder Girl." Robin replied.

"_Should we try to help her?"_ Aqualad asked as Red X, having finished healing, joined up with Robin.

"No, Donna can take care of herself until we catch up." Red X said. "Miss Martian, can you track her through your telepathy."

_**Team 2,**_

Megan tried to use her telepathy but got nothing. "No, she must be out of my telepathic range." She explained as Red X's clones appeared at their location, picking up the robot monkey parts. "Whoever this Professor Ivo is, if he really is still alive, he seems to be two steps ahead of us. Maybe we should contact Red Tornado?"

"_Tornado would just tell us to handle this mess ourselves."_ Red X replied.

"And the mission can still succeed if we recover the parts before they are reassembled." Aqualad added.

"Oh that's a great plan, except for the part about us not knowing where to look!" Wally argued.

"_Maybe we do."_ Robin said over the comlink.

_**Team 1,**_

Robin knelt down next to one of the trashed robot monkeys and pulled out his USP jack, plugging it into the monkey's back. "We'd have heard by now if the decoy trucks had been attacked." Robin said as he worked.

"So the question becomes how did these monkeys know which trucks to target?" Red X asked.

"Ha! The android parts have GPS and the monkeys can track the signal, which mean I can track them with the one I captured." Robin announced. "It looks like both parts are converging on," Robin's eyes widen in surprise, "Gotham City!"

"_That far south?!"_ Aqualad said in surprise. _"M'gann and I won't be able to get there any time soon. I'm sending Kid Flash on ahead."_

Robin picked up the monkey as Red X's clones finished their clean up. "Robin, do the monkeys have GPS as well?" X asked curiously.

Robin checked his holographic wrist computer. "No." He replied.

"That's good." X said. "I'm going to take these parts to the cave. I'll meet up with you in Gotham."

Robin nodded and Shark disappeared along with his clones while Robin summoned his motorcycle. "This is a disaster, heavy on the dis." He commented before hopping onto his bike and headed for Gotham.

_**Meanwhile, at the Hall of Justice,**_

Batman sat in the chair in front of the main computer consul and watched as the team had failed to protect the trucks but weren't giving up. He growled at himself in frustration as he should've realized that Ivo would have some sort of tracking device inside the android, in case the League managed to defeat it. Unlike what most thought, Batman had great faith in the team and knew that they could handle just about anything thrown at them.

He sensed someone coming towards him and calmly changed the screen to the information he had managed to decode from the Cadmus files Red X had given them. "Any luck getting more information decoded?" Black Canary asked as she joined Batman.

"I am currently working on it as we speak." Batman replied. "I should be close to being done. I have to go slowly in case there are any hidden programs that could destroy the data."

Black Canary nodded in understanding. "Diana, J'onn and I learned a bit of disturbing information regarding Red X's training in Cadmus." She informed Batman, who turned towards her, giving her his undivided attention. Canary then told him about the scar Red X had shown them as well as how he had gotten it.

Batman was more than a little surprised by this information but didn't show it. "This news is disturbing and means we'll have to keep an even closer eye on Cadmus to make sure they never do something like that again." He informed Canary who nodded in agreement.

_**Meanwhile, at a train heading through Gotham,**_

The groups of robot monkeys converged on the train and quickly entered one of the train cars. Wonder Girl was right behind them and landed on top of the train car. She punched a hole in the metal and ripped open a bigger hole so she could get inside. Once inside she found herself face-to-face with Professor Ivo, who had graying brown hair and was wearing brown pants, a white dress shirt under a green vest, a red bowtie around his collar and black shoes.

"Oh, hello." Ivo said calmly.

"You? You're Professor Ivo?" Donna asked in disappointment. "I'm whelmed."

"You're one to talk." Ivo countered. "And since when does the Amazon Princess have a brat?"

"She doesn't, Wonder Woman is my older sister." Donna informed the professor.

Ivo's eyes widen in surprise by the information but then chuckles. "Oh well, that explains it." He said. He then gestured to the robot monkeys. "Have you met my Mobile Optimal Neural Quotient Infiltrators or MONQIs for short?" As soon as he asked, the monkeys started to attack Wonder Girl. Donna quickly started smashing them up like they were nothing. "Huh, and after all the time I spent trying to find an acronym for monkey." Ivo sighed.

Donna grabbed the last two by the throat and bashed them together. She was breathing hard as she heard something moving. **"Access: Captain Atom."** A robotic voice said before a blast of yellow energy hit Donna, sending her flying backwards.

Wonder Girl crashed into some crates that were in the train car. She slowly started to get up as Ivo walked over to her. "Since Professor Ivo's magnificent M.O.N.Q.I.s doesn't float your boat, maybe my Amazing Amazo will be better suit you." He said as the android that had fought the Justice League stepped into the light, completely reassembled. "Or better slay you."

Donna stood up. "Give me your best shot." She declared confidently.

Some of the MONQIs chuckled at this. "Please, my android has the strength of Superman, who I might add is just as strong if not stronger than Wonder Woman, so what chance do you have?" Ivo asked cockily.

Donna realized that she was in way over her head but that wasn't about to stop her. She tapped her comlink that was in her ear, sending a signal to the others, before charging forward, fists flying. Amazo calmly blocked her strikes except for the last which caused his head to turn to the side but he quickly turned back towards her. Wonder Girl threw a right punch only to have her hand caught and squeezed painfully. "Oh, did that strike a nerve?" Ivo asked taunted. "Amazo, strike a few more."

Amazo delivered a powerful punch, sending Donna crashing around the train car. **"Access: Black Canary."** Amazo said as Donna got back up. His mouth opened and produced a high pitched scream.

"AAAHHH!" Donna screamed in pain as she covered her ears. The force of the sound wave threw Donna into the back of the car.

Wonder Girl painfully got back on her feet. **"Access: Flash."** Amazo announced before sprinting forward and delivered quick blows to Donna's face, chest and torso. These blows caused Donna to collapse to the floor.

"Oh, no wonder, big sister keeps you hidden away." Ivo continued to taunt the young Amazon. "You're not doing real justice to the old W shield, are you?"

Donna was getting really sick of Ivo's comments and rushed forward, fist cocked back and ready to strike Amazo. **"Martian Manhunter."** Amazo said becoming intangible. This resulted in Donna's strike passing harmlessly through him. Donna was surprised by this and it allowed Amazo to punch her hard, sending her crashed through the back of the train car and into a bulldozer that was being transported on the train. Amazo followed her out. **"Access: Superman."** It said calmly before picking Donna up by the shoulders. He then delivered an uppercut that sent Wonder Girl flying into the air.

Donna ended up crashing through the window of a school that was a little ways away from the train tracks. She tumbled into the desks that were in the classroom.

Amazo looked at Ivo for instructions on what to do next. "Finish her: Priority Alpha." Ivo said with a shrug. Amazo then took off, giving chase to finish Wonder Girl off.

_**Meanwhile, on the highway heading into Gotham,**_

Robin and Kid Flash had just passed the Gotham City Limits sign. Both of them had changed into their costumes. "I see you changed too." Robin commented.

"Are you kidding?" Kid Flashed replied with a shiver. "I feel naked in civies. Are you still tracking those parts?"

"They were heading through Gotham but they veered." Robin said as he checked the map. "Wait… Dude! They're at my school!"

"_Red X to Robin and Kid Flash, I just picked up Donna's comlink sending a distress signal to us here at the cave."_ Red X's voice said over the group's comlink channel. _"Red Tornado and I have traced the signal to Gotham Academy. Head there as fast as you can."_

"X this is Robin, the Amazo parts are also at the school!" Robin reported.

"_I know, I'm on my way to help Donna now."_ Red X replied before the transmission ended.

_**At Gotham Academy,**_

A screaming Donna was sent flying into a trophy case and the glass shattered on impact. Donna was barely conscious when Amazo picked her up by her shirt and swung her around like ragdoll before tossing her down a hallway and into some of the lockers, denting a number of them. Donna got back up and punched a locker door that had opened and was in her face. She charged at Amazo only to be sent flying backward by a powerful punch. She crashed through the doors of the science lab with Amazo following her. She finally stopped when she smacked into the brick wall and fell to the ground.

Amazo stood over Wonder Girl as she looked up at him. "Is that all you got?" She asked defiantly.

Amazo raised his left hand. **"Access: Captain Atom."** He replied. A blaster hole appeared and charged up.

The energy blast blasted Wonder Girl through the floor and into the gymnasium, where she crashed into the basketball court, bouncing a few times before painfully skidding to a stop.

Clapping could be heard coming from the stands as Donna struggled to get up. Donna looked and saw Professor Ivo and a number of his MONQIs sitting in the stands. "I don't usually attend these things in person but *chuckles* this was too good to miss." He stated.

"**Access: Superman."** Amazo said as Donna painfully got to her feet.

Donna was about to charge forward with Red X burst through the window of the gym and punch Amazo in the jaw, sending the android tumbling for a bit. Donna smiled weakly. "What took you so long?" She asked.

Amazo stood up as Robin and Kid Flash also arrived to help. Robin threw some Batarangs at the android. **"Martian Manhunter."** Amazo said before becoming intangible and the Batarangs passed through him. **"Access: Red Tornado."** A swirling wind lifted Amazo into the air.

Amazo flew towards the teens and sent the flying all over the gym. **"Access: Captain Atom."** It said pointing at Kid Flash. Kid immediately took off running as Amazo fired the energy blast, destroying the bleachers. **"Access: Black Canary."** Amazo said as Kid Flash got out from behind the bleachers and headed straight for the android. The screech caused Kid Flash to cover his ears and be blown backwards, skidding across the floor.

"**Access: Superman."** Amazo said before catching Donna's fist only to receive a kick to the back of the head from Red X, who followed up by firing his Omega Beams at the android. **"Martian Manhunter."** The beams passed through the transparent android. **"Activating: Scan of new target."** Amazo announced as its eyes began to glow.

"Oh shit!" Red X shouted before rushing forward trying to stop Amazo before it was too late.

Before Red X could reach Amazo, everyone received a shock. **"Error: Unable to duplicate powers."** Amazo announced.

"What?!" Ivo shouted in shock as he looked wide-eyed at Red X. "I've never seen this hero before and he has powers that Amazo can't duplicate…"

"**Superman."** Amazo said using the super strength to knock Red X aside. **"Martian Manhunter."** Amazo's arms stretched out and block Robin's Batarangs and knocked Kid Flash into the bleachers.

Donna rushed towards Amazo but was caught and brought into a powerful bear hug. **"Superman."** Amazo said before he started squeezing.

"AAAHHH!" Donna screamed in pain.

Suddenly, an arrow came flying out of the shadows. **"Martian Manhunter."** Amazo said just in time to avoid being hit by the arrow but also dropping Donna to the ground.

Red X looked to the shadows and caught the faint outline of a female fleeing the area while Robin looked at the arrow. **"Superman."** Amazo said and raised his foot to stomp down on Wonder Girl but missed as Kid Flash rushed through and grabbed Donna. **"Black Canary."** Amazo said before Red X dashed at him from behind only to be tossed into the bleachers.

Robin threw some Batarangs at Amazo only the android ducked out of the way. **"Superman."** Amazo said before his eyes started glowing and a blast of heat vision was fired at Robin, who was tackled out of the way just in time by Kid Flash. The blast however, knocked the two off their feet and rolling on the group.

Red X climbed out of the rubble and looked out into the gym. He knew that there had to be some weakness to this guy and then he realized it. "Access: Black Canary…" He muttered to himself. _'Okay, so he can only use one hero's powers at a time and announces the name of whoever the next shift is. But there's a time gap between power shifts where he is vulnerable. I just have to wait for the right opportunity.'_ He then opened a telepathic link to the others. _"Everyone, I have a plan. Follow my lead."_ Red X told them.

Ivo faked a yawn in the bleachers across from Red X on the other side of the gym. "Oh, yawn, normal Amazo would study and mimic your abilities during battle but what's the point when you're all such poor copies of the originals." He commented.

Shark was really getting annoyed by this guy. "So everyone keeps saying and that really pisses me off!" He shouted before leaping into the air over Amazo. He was heading right for Ivo, who panicked and ran to get out of the way before Red X pounded both arms into the area Ivo had just been sitting in. "Wanna see me channel that anger?!" He asked.

"Dude, I think Red X has gone ballistic." Kid Flash commented.

Robin grinned. "Maybe not." Donna also caught on to what Red X was up to.

"Amazo, protect you master!" Ivo commanded. "Priority: Alpha!" He had to drive out of the way of another attack by Red X.

"**Captain Atom!"** Amazo said before blasting Red X with an energy beam only for Red X to absorb the energy.

A pair of MONQIs helped Ivo up only for Robin to kick Ivo in the back. "Anyone wanna play keep away?!" The boy wonder asked.

"Oh! Oh! Me!" Kid Flash shouted as he dashed towards Ivo.

"**Superman."** Amazo stomped in foot on the ground and created a shockwave that launched Kid Flash into the bleachers, as well as into one of the MONQIs. Robin threw a number of Batarangs at Amazo. **"Martian Manhunter."** Amazo became ghost-like again.

Just as Amazo was about to shift to another power, Red X landed in front of his and drove his fist right where Amazo's head was when it became solid. "**Super- BOOM!"** Amazo's head exploded around X's fist, knocking X off his feet.

Robin rushed forward as the body fell backwards onto the ground. "Help me disassemble him, now!" He ordered.

"Dude, the guy has no head." Kid Flash commented.

"We can't take any chances!" Aqualad said as he and Miss Martian rushed into the gym. The two started helping Robin disassemble the android.

Wally, though, wasn't convinced that this was necessary. "What harm can it do now?" Kid Flash asked.

"Ahem!" Kid Flash turned to see an irked Wonder Girl limping over to the group with a couple of bruises on her face and arms. Miss Martian rushed over to her friend's side to help support her weight and keep Wonder Girl from falling over, which looked like it could happen at any second.

Wally looked sheepish and scratched the back of his head. "Oh yeah, sorry." He apologized before realizing something. "Hey, where'd Ivo go?"

Everyone then realized that Ivo had disappeared from the gym. "Damn, talk about a sneaky little weasel." Red X commented as Wally walked over to the busted MONQI he had crashed into.

Wally reached down and picked up the MONQI's head. "Souvenir." He said happily.

_**August 4, 1:43 A.M., at Mount Justice,**_

The team had returned to the cave and was greeted by Batman, Red Tornado, Green Arrow, Black Canary, Martian Manhunter and Wonder Woman. "We managed to defeat and disassemble the android and successfully delivered the pieces to the two separate S.T.A.R. Labs Facilities but Ivo managed to escape and since he created the android, he is a much greater threat." Aqualad reported to Batman.

"Capturing the professor will be a League priority." Black Canary assured the team.

Diana was tending to Donna's injuries when said younger sister yelped in pain as the bandages were tightened. "Ow! Diana, be gentle my arm is still throbbing!" Donna yelled getting everyone's attention and making it difficult for Shark not to smirk.

"No one told you to chase after those MONQIs or to face Amazo by yourself, little sister." Diana chastised in a motherly tone. "Plus, you are a warrior and warrior's don't cry or fuss over little injuries such as these."

"It wasn't like I - ow! had a - ow! choice in the matter. OW!" Donna argued between yelps of pain. "Stop being so rough!" _***Crack!***_ "Oh Gods, tell me that wasn't my ribs?" She asked as she used all her willpower to keep from crying out in agony. Sure, Donna had felt the pain of broken bones from her training but getting the crap beat out of her by that android reminded her of the time she picked a fight with a pissed off Minotaur.

Diana chuckled a little. "No wonder Artemis calls you the baby of the family." She joked as she finished treating Donna's wounds. "Now don't anything reckless since your arm is broken in three places and you have three cracked ribs as well as some minor head trauma. If you don't, I'll be forced to inform your old teacher that you are in need of a refresher course on the battlefield." Diana warned with an evil smirk on her face.

Donna, however, paled in fear. "Please, anyone but her!" She begged dramatically. "I barely managed to survive her two month in the wilderness training program and was almost eaten by a basilisk when she threw me into its nest!" She said frantically causing the eldest sister to giggle at Donna's reaction while some of the others also found it amusing.

"I know you all handled yourselves very well but know that there is no shame in asking for help." Batman said getting everyone's attention. "That's why the League is here because there are some problems even we can't handle individually."

"Please, if we need help, we'd never get the chance to ask." Robin retorted before pulling out the arrow that had saved Donna. "Look familiar?" He asked as he handed it to Batman and Green Arrow stepped up to look at the arrow. "You were following us! Babysitting! You still don't trust us!"

"We didn't follow you." Batman said as he handed the arrow to Green Arrow.

The heroic archer pulled out his own arrow and showed that the tips were of different design. Robin was surprised by this. "And that's not your arrow." He said before smiling excitedly. "But that mean!"

"Speedy!" Kid Flash finished excitedly.

"He has out backs." Aqualad said with a smile.

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news but I saw who fired the arrow and it wasn't Speedy." Red X informed the group as he stepped up and took the arrow. "I didn't see her face but it was definitely a female archer."

This news surprised to group as well as Green Arrow but for different reasons. _'What was she doing there?!'_ Green Arrow thought while he and Batman exchanged a look as Batman also knew who it was.

"Oh and just so you know, apparently Amazo is unable to duplicate my powers and abilities." Shark informed the adult heroes.

This shocked all of them, including Batman. "Are you sure?" Canary asked in surprise.

Shark nodded. "Yeah, Amazo tried but announced that there was some sort of error." He explained. "If I had to guess, it could be another side-effect of having so many different DNA infusions done to my body by Cadmus."

"Whatever the case, it's a good thing that Amazo was unable to gain your powers otherwise it may have become unstoppable." J'onn said.

_**Meanwhile, at an unknown location,**_

Professor Ivo had just returned. "So there appears to either be a flaw in my duplication program or that Red X has the ability to negate having his powers duplicated." Ivo said out loud as he walked over to his work table where a cloth covered something that way laying on top. "Nevertheless, when at first you don't succeed," he pulled off the cloth and reveal a second incomplete Amazo, "try try again."

**To Be Continued…**


	5. Chapter 5: A Seventh Member

_**Author's Note**__**: Sorry it has taken so long on the chapters but the muse has been sporadic at best.**_

**Young Justice**

**Chapter 5: A Seventh Member**

_**August 5, Coast City,**_

Green Lantern, Hal Jordan, was patrolling his home town and was on the lookout for a very serious threat. A few days ago, Hal had received word from the Guardians of the Universe that Sinestro, Hal's former teacher in the Green Lantern Corps who had betrayed the Corps and tried to kill the Guardians of the Universe, had once again escaped from prison and was last detected heading towards Earth. Hal was sure that he and John Stewart, a fellow Green Lantern and member of the Justice League, could handle Sinestro but then John was called away by the Guardians to help with another situation. Since John was gone, Green Arrow, a very good friend of Hal's, had volunteered to help him out and was also patrolling the city.

Suddenly, a yellow beam of light brought Hal out of his thoughts. Hal quickly created a green energy shield with the power of his ring. "I see your reflexes are as quick as ever." A voice said as Hal lowered his shield.

Hal narrowed his eyes at his former teacher as Sinestro floated up in front of him. Sinestro was a dark magenta almost red skinned alien with black eyes, a slightly upwardly-elongated forehead and pointy ears. He also had a thin black mustache on his upper lip. He was wearing a uniform that was similar to what the Green Lanterns would wear except it was yellow and black and had the symbol for fear in the center of the chest (think of the uniform Sinestro wears after getting the yellow ring in _Green Lantern: First Flight_). "I see you haven't changed since the last time we saw each other, Sinestro." Hal said hoping to give Green Arrow time to get there as Sinestro was a very tough opponent to beat since Green Lantern Rings didn't work very well against things with the color yellow.

"I hope you're not expecting help to arrive as I know that John Stewart is off planet and no Earthling hero would be foolish enough to attempt anything against my power." Sinestro said arrogantly.

Just as Sinestro finished talking a pair of arrows came flying up behind him and exploded when they hit his back. The smoke from the explosions cleared but Sinestro was completely unharmed and surrounded by a yellow energy bubble. Sinestro glanced over his shoulder and saw Green Arrow standing on the rooftop with a young female. Both of them were drawing another arrow. The girl had dark grey almost black eyes, long blonde hair that was tied back and slightly tanned skin. She was wearing a green mask, green top with a light green arrow on the front and green pants that were covered with black leg pads. She also had on black shoes, a black belt and was wearing dark green fingerless gloves. She carried a green quiver on her back with her arrows.

"I guess I should've known that would not work." Green Arrow told his companion. "Stay on your toes, Artemis."

"I always do." Artemis replied with a smirk as she aimed at Sinestro.

Sinestro shook his head. "Do you really think that those puny toys can help you?" He asked Hal only to be struck in the chest by a powerful beam of green energy from Hal's ring.

"They don't need to defeat you, only distract you." Hal countered as he and Sinestro engaged in aerial combat, using their rings to create all sorts of weapons and hard-light constructs. Sinestro was going with increasingly destructive weapons while Hal was sticking with less destructive weapons, mindful of the fact that they were in the middle of a city full of civilians. Green Arrow and Artemis would fire their arrows at Sinestro whenever they could but they were forced to stick with mostly making sure the civilians didn't get hurt as Green Lantern attempted lure his opponent away from the city.

Unfortunately, Sinestro knew exactly what Green Lantern was thinking and trying to do. He was playing along while at the same time making sure that Hal would head for the place that Sinestro knew held Hal's one weakness.

_**Meanwhile, at Ferris Aircraft's Airfield,**_

Carol Ferris, Hal Jordan's longtime love interest and the owner of Ferris Aircraft, sat in her office going over the paperwork. She was a gorgeous woman with long black hair that went down her back, blue eyes, slightly tanned skin and a slightly hourglass figure. She was wearing khaki pants, a yellow short sleeves shirt under a blue jacket with the sleeves roles up and tennis shoes. She had gold hoop earrings in her ears. _'I wonder when Hal is going to stop by.'_ She thought as she set down what she was reading and turned her seat so she could look out into the airfield. Carol knew all about Hal's secret identity as the Green Lantern and even helped cover for him whenever he would disappear on a mission.

Suddenly, Carol saw green and yellow lights flash out over the airfield. "Sinestro…" She said in horror and she immediately ran out of the office to order an evacuation of the area.

_**Over the Airfield,**_

Hal immediately realized that he had been tricked by Sinestro the moment he laid eyes on the airfield. "Damn you." He growled at Sinestro who smirked and pointed his ring at the main office area just as Carol came running out.

An exploding arrow struck Sinestro in the back. Sinestro angrily turned to see Green Arrow and Artemis. "Artemis, protect Carol Ferris." Green Arrow ordered.

"Why is she so important?" Artemis asked curiously.

"She's Hal's girlfriend." Arrow replied while shooting another arrow at Sinestro.

Sinestro was getting fed up with Green Lantern's friends interfering with his revenge. The alien menace fired a powerful beam of energy at Green Arrow, incinerating the arrow, as Arrow ran to get out of the way but was knocked off his feet because of the explosion. A piece of rubble flew through the air and clipped Arrow in the side of the head, knocking him out cold. Green Lantern tried to attack Sinestro with a beam of energy while he was distracted but Sinestro countered with his own beam of energy.

Artemis had just reached Carol and turned to see her mentor unconscious on the ground. "Green Arrow!" She shouted in worry.

"AAHH!" Hal shouted in pain as Sinestro got around his defenses and landed a powerful blow on Hal, sending him crashing to the ground below near where Carol and Artemis were watching. The force of the impact caused a small crater to form. Carol ran to Hal's side, even though she knew it was dangerous. Artemis went with her and shot arrow after arrow at Sinestro but none of them were able to penetrate the energy aura that surrounded Sinestro.

"Hal!" Carol said as she knelt down next to him.

Green Lantern groaned as he opened his eyes. "Carol…" He said as he tried to sit up. Carol helped him sit up. Hal realized that Sinestro was floating over head. "You need to get out of here, Carol." He told her.

"Neither of you are going anywhere." Sinestro said with an evil grin as he pointed his glowing ring at the crater.

Suddenly a blue beam of energy struck Sinestro from the side, sending him flying into one of the jet fighters kept at the airbase. Artemis, Green Lantern and Carol turned to see Red X standing off to the side with smoke coming from his outstretched hands. He was wearing his uniform with his duster jacket over it. "It looks like I got here just in time." X commented as he floated over to Green Lantern.

"What are you doing here?" Green Lantern asked as he got up.

"I heard there was a disturbance and decided to check it out." Shark explained as he looked around and noticed Green Arrow. "And considering that Green Arrow is down for the count, it looks like you could use the help."

Green Lantern nodded before turning to Artemis. "Stay with Carol." He told her before he and Red X headed for where Sinestro had crashed.

Sinestro growled angrily as he got up. "It seems I wasted too much time toying with you, Jordan." He said after he took notice of Red X.

"I suggest you surrender while you can still talk." Red X threatened while cracking his knuckles.

Sinestro replied to firing a beam of yellow energy at Red X, who countered with a yellow atomic blast. The two attacks cancelled each other out, surprising Sinestro. Hal fired a beam of green energy at Sinestro while Shark used his heat vision. Sinestro was forced into playing defense from the barrage of attacks, especially since Red X would block whatever Sinestro threw at them allowing Green Lantern to focus on attacking.

Artemis did not like being stuck on the sidelines and was waiting for just the opportunity to help. She had pulled out one of her most powerful exploding arrows and was watching the fight intently. _'Come on…'_ She thought.

Red X fired his Omega Beam at Sinestro; catching the criminal completely by surprise when the beam went around the energy wall he created to block the attack. The attack was powered down so it didn't kill him on contact but it still knocked the wind out of him and sent Sinestro fall towards Artemis and Carol.

Artemis smirked. "Gotcha." She released the arrow, which flew through the air and struck Sinestro, exploded on contact. The blast sent Sinestro back towards Green Lantern, who created a giant green mallet with his ring. Hal slammed the mallet down on top of the former Green Lantern member as hard as he could. The attack slammed Sinestro down on the ground so hard that it formed a crater and made the ground around them shake.

Hal slowly removed the mallet as Red X and Artemis prepared to attack Sinestro should he still be conscious. Fortunately, Sinestro wasn't. "Nice shot by the way." Red X told Artemis giving her a thumbs-up as Green Arrow joined them, holding his head.

"Thanks." Artemis replied with a grin.

Red X went down into the hole and removed Sinestro's Yellow Power Ring from his hand. "Hey, you think I could keep this?" He asked Hal, who looked a little confused by the question.

"Don't you have enough power?" Green Arrow asked.

X chuckled. "More than enough but I was just asking considering I read that the last ring Sinestro had was destroyed, yet here he is with another." He commented. "I'm not sure but it could be that he's mass producing these things somewhere in the universe. If I can tinker with this ring, I might be able to come up with a way to track its energy back to the source."

Hal had to admit that Red X had a very good point about Sinestro making more than one ring somewhere. "It does have some merit to it." Hal admitted. "I'll let you hold onto the ring for now but, should the Guardians want it, I expect you to hand it over without any arguments."

Shark agreed to those terms. Hal created a holding cell with his ring and took off to deliver Sinestro to the Guardians. Red X turned to Artemis. "Uh, not to sound rude or anything but who are you exactly?" He asked since he had never seen her before.

"My name is Artemis." Artemis replied.

Green Arrow put a hand on her shoulder. "She's my niece as well as new protégé." He said proudly.

Red X held out his hand. "Well, it's nice to meet you, Artemis." He said kindly as Artemis shook his hand.

Artemis was a little confused. "Aren't you going to ask where Speedy is?" She asked.

X shook his head. "I don't really know Speedy and, the one time I met him, he didn't exactly impress me." He explained. "No offense, Green Arrow, but your original sidekick appears to have a serious ego problem."

Green Arrow sighed. "Yeah…"

A beeping noise went off on Red X's comlink. "Red X here." He said before listening to the person on the other end. "Oh, right. Sorry, Canary, forgot about training. I was helping Lantern, Arrow and Artemis deal with Sinestro." He explained. "I'm on my way." He turned to Arrow and Artemis. "Sorry but I've gotta go."

Green Arrow chuckled. "Oh, no need to apologize. I know how Canary can be when it comes to training sessions." He assured the young hero before Red X took off.

_**August 7, In the Dead of Night, on Infinity Island,**_

A young man hid in the shadows as he ran on the roof of one of the buildings. He shot an arrow at a guard, which electrocuted the guard, knocking him out. The young man made his way to the wall and shot another arrow, this one with a rope connected to it, up to the roof. Once the arrow had secured itself, the young man used the rope to pull himself up the wall. He ran to the cover of a pillar to keep from being spotted by a search light that was part of the security system.

The young man was wearing a suit that predominantly black, with a red chest and collar. He had a red quiver on his back attached with two grey shoulder straps connected across the chest, and his hands had black fingerless gloves on them. The young man was once known as Speedy, Green Arrow's sidekick, but now called himself Red Arrow. He shot an arrow near a camera. The arrow had a device attached to it that caused the camera feed to be put on a loop so the person watching would only see an empty area. He then took out the two sentries with electro arrows that knocked them out cold.

_**Inside a room,**_

A female scientist was seated at a computer, working on a program. She was a bespectacled young woman with blonde hair and blue eyes. Her hair was short, almost to shoulder length at the back and with bangs over her eyes. She had on the classical lab coat of a scientist, with the sleeves rolled to her elbows. The white coat had several pockets, with one holding a pen. She wore dark-blue pants that reached her ankles and an olive green V-neck shirt. She had a small earring on both ears. "We're losing patience. Complete the project or forfeit your life." A male voice told her.

"I'm completing as fast as I can." She assured him.

There was a knock at the door. One of the two guards went to answer only to have the door knocked over on top of him. Red Arrow entered the room and took out the other guard. The scientist was surprised to see him as he walked towards her. "Dr. Roquette." Red Arrow said.

"Please tell me you're the advance guy?" Dr. Roquette asked as Red Arrow pulled out an arrow.

"No. I'm the only guy." He replied.

"You couldn't bring back up?!" Dr. Roquette asked in shock. "What were there budget cuts?!"

Suddenly, the sounds of a bell ringing filled the island. Soon after, the sounds of guards rushing around were heard. Red Arrow shot his arrow at the wall and it exploded, taking the wall out. "Now or never time doc." Red Arrow told her.

Dr. Roquette looked at the device she had been working on. "We can't leave this." She told Red Arrow.

"Look! I take it or I take you!" He informed her.

"Right, take me." She replied pulled off her glasses.

Red Arrow shot another arrow with a rope down to a tree near the beach. He attached a zip line to the rope and hooked it to his belt. He then pulled Dr. Roquette close to his body. "Hang on!" He ordered, which she did, and the two rode the cable down to the beach as armed soldiers arrived and started shooting at them.

Dr. Roquette screamed on their way down and Red Arrow unhooked the zip line and they landed on their feet. The two ran to the water where Red Arrow had a covered up motorboat waiting for them. Dr. Roquette climbed in while Red Arrow pushed the boat out into the water. "So what do you call this? The Arrow Boat?" She asked jokingly as Red Arrow climbed in.

"I call it a rental, now get down." He replied as he started up the engine and activated a button on the boat's dash.

A number of explosives on the beach then activated by the remote making a loud beeping noise before detonating as Red Arrow steered the motorboat away from the island. "I think we're in the clear." He told the scientist.

"Great, that leaves only one problem." Dr. Roquette said.

_**Back on the island,**_

A man with black hair and a highly advanced helmet that covered his upper face was examining the device Dr. Roquette had been working on. The masked man was known as Professor Ojo. An old man with white hair and a white beard on his chin and brown eyes with a scar across his left eye entered the room. The old man was known simply as Sensei. "Well?" Sensei asked.

"She finished. We are good to go." Professor Ojo replied resulting in Sensei smiling menacingly.

_**August 8, at the Beach near Mount Justice,**_

Shark, Donna, Megan, Kaldur and Robin were all out on the beach enjoying the perfect weather they were having. They had a cooler, beach umbrella, towels volleyball, volleyball net, surf boards and a small grill for cooking, not to mention they were all in the swim gear. Megan was wearing a yellow bikini top and shorts, Kaldur wore dark blue swim trunks, Robin had on a pair of red and blue swim trunks as well as his black shades, Donna wore a red bikini top and shorts with her hair tied up in a high ponytail, and Shark was wearing black swim trunks with red going up the side as well as a red Hawaiian T-shirt.

"Hello Megan, we should hit the beach every day!" Megan announced happily.

Shark smiled and took a deep breath before exhaling. "Yeah, just smell that beach air." He said happily.

"First, a moment of silence for our absent comrade." Robin said in a solemn tone.

"Poor Wally." Donna said sadly.

_**At that very moment, at Central City High School,**_

The bell rang as the homeroom teacher welcomed the class to their first day of sophomore year. Wally groaned as he sank in his seat, wishing he was with his friends on the beach.

_**Back at the beach,**_

"Yes, poor Walter." Shark said sarcastically while opening up the beach umbrella with a flick of his wrist and planting it into the sand. "Now, are we going to have fun or whine about Flash Boy's first day back in the 365 day prison known as school?" He questioned with a grin on his face.

Robin grinned right back at him. "I vote for fun!" He shouted as he set his stuff down and takes off for the water. Shark tossed his shirt to the side and joins the laughing boy wonder in a race to the water.

"It's kind of funny." Donna stated as she, Kaldur and Megan watch the two boys as they dived into the water. "When we're on a mission, Shark is completely serious and cautious and yet, when we're off duty, he's just like the rest of us, despite everything Cadmus put him through."

Kaldur nodded in agreement. "Yeah but at least he has been given this opportunity at a real life." He commented before grinning. "Now, are we just going to let those two have the fun?" He, Megan and Donna then went to join Robin and Shark.

Shark was currently had Robin in a headlock and was giving the boy wonder a noogie until the 13 year old managed to slip out of his grip and began throwing water on Shark, who had to use his arms to shield his face. Seeing this opportunity, Donna tackled the distracted team leader into the water for a few seconds until they both emerged from under the water with Shark having both arms around Donna's waist, tickling her sides. The young Amazon laughed and struggled to get out of his grip while begging for someone to help.

Megan decided to help Donna out and snuck up behind Shark. She then jumped onto his back and covered his eyes with her hands while laughing. "Ah! I'm blind!" Shark cried out jokingly while Donna managed to pry herself free from his grip around her waist. The two girls worked together to dunk Shark into the shallow end of the water while Robin and Kaldur laughed at the sight until the three surfaced with Donna and Megan laughing as Shark and a clone each started tickling them mercilessly.

After that, they barbequed a couple of hotdogs on the small grill and then played a game of volleyball with Donna, Megan and Shark on one side and Robin, Kaldur and a clone on the other. Once that was done, Kaldur went for a dive into the ocean to do some deep sea exploring while Donna, Megan, Robin and Shark surfed the waves with Shark using a water manipulation spell to create the waves.

As the sun was beginning to set, the group decided to call it quits and headed back to the cave. They had soon changed into their hero attire, Shark without his mask on, and gathered in the main meeting area when the Zeta Beam Teleporter Tube flashed and entering the monitor room were Batman, Red Tornado, Green Arrow and Artemis.

"Hey kids." Green Arrow greeted with a smile.

"Hey Oli." Robin replied before he gestured to the girl. "Who's she?"

"Artemis." The female archer greeted as she held out her hand and shook with Robin and the others. "I'm Green Arrow's niece and new protégé as well as your new teammate."

"Well, welcome aboard." Shark said with a smile as the two shook hands. They had already met but Shark was being polite and shook her hand since he was the team leader.

"It's good to see you again, X." Artemis said with a smile.

"You two know each other?" Donna asked curiously.

"We met when I went to help Green Lantern deal with Sinestro." Shark explained. "Artemis and Green Arrow were already there. One of Artemis's exploding arrows allowed us to take Sinestro down."

Donna and Artemis started talking about Artemis's different arrows while Shark went to get something. Just as Shark was returning, the Zeta Beam Teleporter flashed. **"Recognize: Kid Flash B03."** The computer announced.

Wally was wearing red swim trucks and had some beach gear with him. "The Wallman is in the house and ready to get this party star-" he tripped over the umbrella he had and crashed hard onto the floor while his stuff was scattered everywhere and slid forward, "uh, ted?" He finished while everyone, including Batman, just stared at him with a blank look.

"And this is what we have to deal with on a daily basis." Shark commented dryly as he batted away the beach ball Wally had brought before it could hit his head. "Wally, I told you that you wouldn't be able to get here in time for the beach party. As it turns out, you're over 7 hours late."

"Wallman, huh? Love the uniform. What exactly are your powers?" Artemis asked with humor in her voice as Wally got up and walked over to the team.

"Uh who is this?" Wally asked his teammates.

"Artemis, your new teammate." Artemis answered for them.

"Kid Flash and I've never heard of you." Wally said, not the least bit impressed with Artemis.

Green Arrow stepped up and put an arm around Artemis's shoulder. "She my niece as well as my new protégé." He explained.

This surprised Kid Flash. "New protégé but what happened to your old one?" He asked. "What happened to Speedy?"

Just then the Zeta Beam Teleporter Tube activated. **"Recognize: Speedy B07."** It announced as the tube flashed.

Red Arrow stepped out. "Well for starters, he doesn't go by Speedy anymore. You can call me Red Arrow now." He announced as he walked into the room.

Everyone was a bit surprised by Roy's new uniform but Oliver was shocked and astonished by the change. "Roy, you look-" he started but was rudely interrupted by his former protégé.

"Replaceable." Roy finished with a scowl on his face.

Green Arrow was a bit taken back by Red Arrow's hostility towards him but easily hid it. "It's nothing like that." He assured Roy. "You told me that you were going solo."

"So why waste time finding a sub? Can she even use that bow?" Red Arrow asked his former partner.

Artemis was getting sick of being looked down upon by Red Arrow. "Yes she can." She stated as she got into his face, while Roy's scowl deepened. "I'm not some run of the mill amateur, Arrow Head. I have the skills to back up my words." She then gestured to Red X, who had pulled on his mask. "You can ask Red X over there just how good I am."

Roy looked over at Red X. "Oh, so it's you again." He said before looking at Batman. "I didn't know you were taking another sidekick under your wing, Batman."

"I'm not." Batman said as he crossed his arms in front of his chest, not liking Red Arrow's attitude one bit. "He was the one Kid Flash, Robin and Aqualad found when they went to investigate Cadmus. I'm pretty sure Green Arrow explained that event to you before you went solo." Roy nodded as he recalled it being mentioned.

Aqualad decided to try to calm things down. "Artemis is not your replacement, Roy." He assured the archer. "We have always wanted you on the team and we have no quota on archers."

Wally decided to make his opinion known. "And even if we did, you know who we'd pick." He commented.

"I think Red Arrow came here for a reason." Donna said getting everyone's attention.

Red Arrow nodded. "That's right. A reason named Dr. Serling Roquette." He explained.

Robin immediately recognized the name. "Nano robotics genius and claytronics expert at Royal University in Star City," he announced as he used his holographic wrist computer to pull up her information so that everyone else could see it.

Red X also recognized the name. "I remember, she vanished two weeks ago without a trace." He added.

"She was abducted two weeks ago by the League of Shadows." Red Arrow corrected.

"Whoa, you want us to rescue her from the League of Shadows?" Robin asked in excitement.

"No, I've already rescued her." Roy answered before pulling out a device. "There was only one problem. The Shadows had already coerced her into creating a weapon." He activated the device and a hologram appeared in front of the group, revealing the image of a cylindrical like device and something that looked to be a robotic bug. "The doc calls it the Fog. It's comprised of millions of microscopic robots, Nanotech Infiltrators, capable of disintegrating anything in their path: Concrete, steel, flesh and bone. But its true purpose isn't destruction. It's theft. The infiltrators eat and store raw data from any computer system and deliver the stolen data to the Shadows." He explained. "So far they've been using it on universities like the Miami Beach University in Florida but it's more than likely that these attacks were just test runs to make sure the weapon worked properly. It's only a matter of time before they start hitting major corporations like STAR Labs for example or even hack into and steal codes from military facilities."

"So basically this weapon will give them access to weapons, strategic defenses, cutting edge science and tech." Red X said as he caught on to how dangerous the Fog was.

"Perfect for extortion, manipulation, power broking, yeah, sounds like the Shadows." Artemis commented.

Wally scoffs. "Like you know anything about the Shadows." He retorted while Artemis just smirks at him. "Who are you?!" He shouted angrily.

Red X had enough of Wally's attitude and appeared behind him, smacking the speedster upside the head. "Can it, Baywatch." He told him in an annoyed tone. "Please continue Red Arrow."

Said Archer nodded and continued. "Right now, Roquette's working on a virus that will render the Fog inert."

"But if the Shadow's know that she can do that, then they'll target her." Donna commented.

"Right now, Roquette is off the grid. I stashed her in the local high school's computer lab." Red Arrow stated as the hologram shifted to an image of Happy Harbor High School.

Green Arrow was surprised by this. "You left her alone?"

"She's safe enough for now." Roy retorted.

"You're kidding, right?" Red X asked seriously starting to question Red Arrow's intelligence. "You stashed her at a high school? That's like me tossing Walter into the middle of a shark infested fish tank with a slab of raw bloody stake tied to him."

"Hey!" Wally shouted while Artemis giggled at that.

"I didn't ask for your opinion." Red Arrow snapped at the masked teenager, not liking the fact that he was being looked down upon by some. "Besides, I highly doubt that a rookie like you could have pulled off rescuing her from the League of Shadows' base on Infinity Island and escape." He retorted with no small amount of arrogance in his voice which made Red X roll his eyes.

"Oh please, I was trained to handle missions like that from day one back in Cadmus." Red X remarked as he folded his arms. "Not only would I have been able to rescue her but I also wouldn't have been forced to leave the Fog behind like you were because you didn't have back up."

"Tch, you expect me to believe that?" Roy asked, trying to keep from showing how surprised he was that Red X knew the truth.

"Honestly, I don't give a rat's ass about what you believe." Red X retorted. "All that really matters is that the Dark Knight and these guys here believe me."

"Roy, that's enough." Green Arrow said. "Let's you and I make sure that Roquette stays safe."

"You and I? Don't you want to take your new protégé?" Roy questioned.

Green Arrow stepped forward but was stopped by Batman putting his hand on his shoulder. Green Arrow sighed in defeat. "You brought this to the team. That means it's their mission now, which means it's her mission too." He stated, gesturing to the group.

"Tch, then my jobs done." Red Arrow said as he walked towards the Zeta Beam Teleporter Tube.

"**Recognize: Speedy-"** the computer started.

"That's Red Arrow B07 update." Roy growled before he vanished in a flash of light.

Red X was not the least bit impressed. "Arrogant prick…" He muttered under his breath.

"Sorry about him, Shark, he's kind of that black sheep of the bunch." Oliver apologized.

Shark snorted at this. "Well, that black sheep is going to get his wool chopped off if he's not careful and doesn't do something about that attitude of his." He retorted. "Don't you give guys like him any form of discipline?"

"I've tried but it's never been this bad before and it's kind of hard to get through that thick skull of his at this point." Green Arrow admitted.

Shark sighed before turning to Artemis. "Well, anyway, welcome to the team Artemis." He said holding out the arrow that had saved Donna from Amazo. "I believe this is yours." Artemis smirked and nodded as she took the arrow back. "We're happy to have you onboard… well almost everyone but you can just ignore Walter."

"Stop calling me that! My name is Wally!" Kid Flash shouted.

"That sounds like something I'd name my dog." Artemis giggled, resulting in Wally glaring at her before storming off the change into his costume.

_**9:30 P.M., at Happy Harbor High School,**_

After making sure the high school was secure, Red X had Miss Martian, Wonder Girl and Aqualad patrol the outside of the school while he, Robin, Artemis and Kid Flash patrolled the inside and kept an eye on Serling while she worked on the virus in the Computer Lab. Kid Flash and Aqualad had their suits in stealth mode to avoid being seen. Megan had them all linked up telepathically so the Shadows couldn't intercept their comlink messages.

"_Man, talking telepathically is weird."_ Artemis commented. _"It's like I'm talking without actually talking. Is this how you communicate back on Mars?"_ She asked Miss Martian while inspecting her nails.

"_Yes it is. Though I have a limit on how far I can communicate with people and I'm nowhere near the level my uncle is at."_ Megan replied. _"Red X can also use telepathy but he prefers to use it to get information out of people or to prank Wally."_

"_Yeah, like the time he gave Wally the mindset of a 6 year old girl."_ Donna giggled. _"We found him dressed up and playing tea party with a bunch of stuffed animals."_

"_What is this pick on Kid Flash Day?"_ Wally asked in annoyance. _"I still can't believe you had Donna put my hair in berets and put makeup on my face, X. I looked like Bozo the Clown."_ He complained.

Robin snickered at the memory. _"Hey, X, you still got the photos?"_ He asked causing Kid Flash's eyes to widen in horror before glaring at Red X.

"_You took pictures?! That is so not cool dude!"_ KF growled.

"_Go cry me a river, Junior."_ Red X retorted. _"Maybe next time you'll think twice about dying my costume pink."_

"_Dude it wasn't permanent! All you had to do was wash it off with cold water!"_ Wally argued. _"Besides, you have no room to talk about pranks! If I recall correctly, you dyed my costume lime green and bright pink! Robin wouldn't stop calling me Neon Flash for a week!"_ He yelled while pointing at Shark.

Robin snickered. _"I can hear the reporters now: Neon Flash, the fastest and shiniest kid alive! Don't look at his costume directly or you'll go blind!"_ He said with a grin on his face.

"_Good one, Rob."_ Donna chuckled as she leapt from one roof top to another.

"_Okay, can you guys tone down the chatter?!"_ Dr. Roquette asked. _"Coding a distributive algorithm virus on a kiddy computer with less ram than a wrist watch is hard enough, now I have to hear teen think in my skull!"_ She grabbed her head in frustration.

"_Lady, do you always complain when someone tries to help you?"_ Wally asked as he was eating a snack.

"_Pot, Kettle. Have you met?"_ Artemis asked gesturing between Kid Flash and Serling.

"_Hey, hey! I do not need attitude from the newbie who drove Red Arrow off the team!"_ Kid Flash retorted.

"_Hey, that is so not on me!"_ Artemis shot back as she got off the desk, pointed at Kid Flash before turning her back, crossing her arms in front of her.

"_You know as well as I do, Wally, that Artemis has nothing to do with why Red Arrow is not on our team. Red Arrow has stated repeatedly that he is not interested in joining us, especially after that incident at the Hall of Justice. He considers us to be nowhere in his league."_ Aqualad said.

Red X snorted. _"Please, Arrow Head is nothing but a big baby."_ He commented. _"He thinks he's ready to play in the big leagues but the actual truth is that he's not ready. He's far too hotheaded, impatient and arrogant to even be considered for joining the Justice League. It's going to get him in serious trouble one of these days. People like him have to learn things the hard way before they finally wake up to reality and realize that their abilities have their limits and can only get you so far until you're in over your head. If he doesn't realize this, then he will soon find himself six feet under."_

Kid Flash had nothing to say against this bit of wisdom from Red X. _"Damn and I thought that Batman was harsh."_

"_It's called being truthfully, Wally, and I don't sugarcoat things this serious."_ Red X retorted as he stood up from where he was sitting. _"I call it like it is, whether you like it or not. Aqualad, switch with me and Artemis so we can help keep an eye on the perimeter."_

"_I'm on my way."_ Aqualad replied as he headed inside the school.

Artemis and Red X exited the Computer Lab as Aqualad entered the room. Artemis took to the main entrance with Miss Martian while Red X went to the back of the building to make sure no one snuck in through there.

"_Why couldn't I get the Justice League?"_ Roquette whined as Aqualad walked behind her.

"_The virus will not be of much use if we cannot find the weapon."_ Aqualad commented. _"Can you track it?"_

"_My utility bot is not a weapon."_ Dr. Roquette argued. _"It's science, brilliant science. And of course I can track it. But I'd have to go online to do that. You might as well rent a billboard with this address and 'Assassinate Me' written in neon."_ She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.

Aqualad put a hand on her shoulder and gave her a reassuring smile. _"We will protect you."_ He assured her.

Roquette could tell that Aqualad was giving her the truth. She pushed the enter button on the computer, going online. _"Tracking the Fog now."_ She said as the computer pulled up a global image and began to track the weapon.

_**Private Airfield, in Philadelphia,**_

Professor Ojo was having a drink when his computer started beeping. He pressed a button and a holographic screen appeared with a headshot of Dr. Roquette on it. Ojo when pressed another button, contacting Sensei. "Roquette has surfaced to track us." He reported as he began tracking Roquette as well. "But that links a two-way street. I'm sending her location…now."

_**At an unknown location,**_

Sensei looked at the information. "Who do we have near, uh, Happy Harbor, Rhode Island?" He asked one of his subordinates.

"Chesire is closest." The subordinate replied. "Along with another."

"Send her the orders." Sensei ordered.

_**Back at Happy Harbor High School,**_

Red X was using his enhanced senses to make sure that there was no one trying to sneak into the school. Although he didn't have X-Ray vision, he did have inferred vision and was using it as well as his hearing. He heard a twig snap from in front of the school and decided to investigate. X floated over the school and landed near the gate entrance where Miss Martian and Artemis were standing guard.

Red X walked away from the girls with Artemis checking out his back. _"Mmm, that boy."_ She purred causing X to glance over his shoulder at her but he didn't say anything as he went back to looking around.

"_He can hear you. We can all hear you."_ Miss Martian reminded Artemis.

"_Oh, I know."_ Artemis replied with a grin.

"_X, Dr. Roquette has located the Fog."_ Aqualad reported. _"It's in Philadelphia."_

Red X stopped and turned to the school. _"Alright, Miss Martian, reconfigure the Bio-Ship so that Robin and Wonder Girl can pursue."_ He ordered as he went inside the school.

Megan pointed into the sky, causing the Bio-Ship to appear and land in front of the school. _"Ready."_ She informed them as Wonder Girl and Robin ran to the ship.

"_Kid Flash, patrol the hallways and take it slow."_ Red X ordered only for Wally to dash off, just as Red X was getting close to the lab. _"I said take it slow, Walter!"_

"_Alright."_ Wally grumbled as he started walking the hallways.

Miss Martian and Artemis watched as the Bio-Ship took off with their two teammates inside. Megan glared at Artemis. _"You embarrassed Red X."_ She said.

"_I didn't hear him say that."_ Artemis countered with a grin.

"_Must you challenge everyone?"_ Megan asked.

Artemis frowned. _"Where I come from, that's how you survive."_ She replied. Megan's annoyance subsided when she heard this. Neither of them noticed a shadow jumping over the fence and dashing into the school.

_**Inside the high school, with Kid Flash,**_

Wally was walking down a hallway when he noticed a shadow on the ground move as he got closer. He dashed after the shadow and caught a glimpse of the shadow by the indoor swimming pool. He rushed into the area but slipped on black marbles that were on the floor, which he didn't notice as all. He cried out in surprise and fell onto his back.

Kid Flash groaned and looked to the side only to see a black boot coming towards him before everything went black.

The attacker used her foot to push Kid Flash into the pool before heading back into the school.

_**In the hallways, with Aqualad,**_

Red X had sent Aqualad to patrol the hallways, since Kid Flash would most likely miss something important. Kaldur had his water-bearers out and had them in the form of swords as he patrolled cautiously. The hair on the back of his neck suddenly stood up and he turned around, only to have two wires imbed themselves into his chest. A powerful electrical current surged through the wires and into Kaldur's chest. "AAHH!" He groaned before quickly passing out.

_**Computer Lab,**_

Red X was watching over Dr. Roquette with his arms folded in front of him when he heard the door open behind them and knew that it wasn't Aqualad or Kid Flash. _"Don't react but the assassins are here."_ He told her telepathically as he lowered his arms to his side.

X heard a shuriken whizzing through the air towards the professor's head but he quickly spun around and threw his own red X shuriken to intercept the attack. "Stop what you're doing and hide." He ordered and the professor didn't need to be told twice. The door to the computer lab slammed open and two females came dashing to the room.

The first was wearing a kunoichi battle outfit and a grinning cat mask with red markings and drew out two Sais from her sheathe. She was Cheshire, an assassin from the League of Shadows.

The second was wearing a mostly blue skin tight reinforced suit with an orange collar, belt, boots, wrist guards and gloves. A half blue/half orange mask that had an eye design on the orange half covered the upper part of her head. Her waist length white hair came up from under the back of the mask. She drew two katana from the sheathes that were on her back. Her name was Ravager, the daughter of Deathstroke the Terminator.

"Nice reflexes, cutie." Ravager commented with a grin as the two females dashed forward and Red X drew his own swords.

"_Artemis, Miss Martian, Aqualad, Kid Flash, the assassins are in the building, get your asses in here! Now!"_ He yelled telepathically as Ravager took a swing with her katana at his throat. X blocked the attack and countered with a spin kick that Ravager rolled with. This allowed Cheshire to get Roquette into her line of site.

Cheshire threw her Sai with deadly accuracy only for Red X to kick a desk in the way, causing the Sai to embed themselves into the hard wood. The professor let out an "Eek!" in surprise. Red X then flipped into the air and headed towards Cheshire, intending on delivering a drop kick, only for Cheshire to flip backwards. Red X's foot hit the ground hard, causing a dent to form.

"_We're on our way!"_ Artemis said as she and Miss Martian raced into the school only for Megan to stop and suddenly head for another area of the school.

Aqualad had recovered from his attack and shook the cobwebs from his head. _"As am I."_ He said as he picked up his water-bearers.

Cheshire threw more shuriken at X while Ravager tried to get close enough to kill Dr. Roquette. X blocked the shuriken with his blades and forced Ravager to fall back by using his heat vision on the floor inches in front of her.

Ravager dashed straight as Red X while Cheshire threw shuriken at Dr. Roquette. X used his body to shield Roquette from the shuriken and threw his swords at Cheshire, while stopping Ravager with his forearms.

"That had to hurt." Cheshire commented about X taking the hits, only to watch as her shuriken fell off with their point broken and Ravager's katana blades cracked.

"My skin is very strong." Red X replied.

Cheshire prepared to throw another Sai only to have an arrow hit her wrist, causing her to cry out in pain. Ravager and Cheshire turned to see Artemis aiming her bow and two arrows at them. "Don't move." She ordered them as Aqualad joined her.

Meanwhile, Miss Martian was at the indoor pool using her telekinesis to lift Wally out of the water.

Ravager and Cheshire stood side-by-side as Artemis shot her arrows at them. Cheshire pulled out a retractable dagger and used it to slice up the arrows as they came at her while Ravager did the same with her katana. Kid Flash and Miss Martian soon arrived.

"This just got a little too interesting." Cheshire commented seeing how outnumbered they were.

The two female assassins pulled out smoke bombs as Ravager looked directly at Red X. "See you around cutie, I had fun playing assassin with you." She said and winks at him.

The assassins then threw down the bombs and caused a smokescreen to appear as soon as the bombs hit the ground. Kid Flash rushed forward and tried to tackle them through the smokescreen only to land, roll on the ground and stand up close to a surprised Artemis. He jumped backwards because of how close their bodies were.

"Gone." Kid Flash said in frustration as the smoke cleared.

"They're getting away! You're letting them get away!" Dr. Roquette yelled at Red X and Aqualad.

"This is all your fault!" Kid Flash blamed Artemis. "You were on perimeter! How did those Shadows get in here?!" Artemis just narrowed her eyes at him.

"That's not really fair." Miss Martian said to Kid Flash. "I was outside too."

"Outside being distracted by her!" Wally countered jabbing his thumb at Artemis.

"That's enough!" Red X yelled at Kid Flash. "And speaking of letting people get in here, where exactly were you?" He jabbed a finger into Wally's chest.

"I…way…" Wally started to make an excuse.

"He was floating in the pool unconscious and would've drowned if I hadn't given him mouth to mouth." Megan answered for him.

Wally gave Megan a goofy grin. "And I appreciate that very much, Megali-"

BONK!

"Ow!" Wally cried out as Red X bopped him on the head.

"Now is not the time for your shenanigans." Red X warned. "We need to focus."

"The Shadows will no doubt be back." Aqualad added before Red X's comlink started beeping.

"_Robin to Red X, we're over Philadelphia."_ Robin said through the comlink.

_**Over Philadelphia, in the Bio-Ship,**_

"We've located the Shadows next target: STAR Labs." Robin reported as they flew closer to the building, which began to collapse. "We're too late."

"It's been totally destroyed!" Donna commented. "The Fog decimated it."

"This is bad. STAR Labs' cutting edge technology secrets are now in the hands of the enemy." Robin said.

"What's our next move, X?" Donna asked.

_**Back at the high school,**_

X pinched the bridge of his nose. "Rescan for the Fog and find out its next target." He replied as he looked at Dr. Roquette. "Meanwhile, we're moving the doctor to another location and I have an idea on how we can catch the shadows off guard."

_**Happy Harbor Docks Marine Lab,**_

Artemis was pacing back and forth as she and Kid Flash were keeping an eye out while watching over 'Roquette' as she appeared to be uploading the virus. Artemis stopped and looked to see Kid Flash glaring at her and fired her own glare right back to him narrowing his eyes. _"Knock it off, both of you!"_ Red X ordered.

"_What?!"_ They asked at the same time.

"_Do not bother denying it. We can practically hear you glaring at each other telepathically."_ Aqualad informed them. He and Red X were outside the building, Aqualad near the trees and Red X on top of the building.

"_Fine."_ They both groaned.

"_Say it like you mean it this time. Don't make me come in there."_ Red X threatened. The tone he said it in conveyed that if he was forced to come inside, it would no doubt be very painful for the both of them.

"_Fine!"_ They said frantically.

"_Jackass."_ Wally muttered.

Shark was not amused. _"Just for that, Walter, you're taking Robin's patrol duty this Saturday."_ He informed the speedster.

"_What but I-"_ Wally tried to argue.

"_You want Sunday as well?"_ Red X threatened. _"No? Then can it!"_

Artemis smirked and blew a raspberry at Kid Flash. _"Artemis…"_ X growled.

She rubbed with back of her head in embarrassment. _"Sorry! Sorry! I'll be good, I swear!"_ She said.

Shark shook his head as he crouched down and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I feel like a fucking babysitter instead of a team leader." He mumbled to himself.

"Miss Martian, stay in camouflage mode and make a wipe perimeter sweep." Aqualad said out loud.

Suddenly, an orange web substance came out of the tree above Aqualad and pulled him up into the tree branches. Aqualad struggled with his attacker but was soon thrown from the tree and slammed into a van. Red X rushed to the aid of his comrade only to be attack by a man with a hook for a left hand and Cheshire. A man in an all black suit, better known as the assassin Black Spider, came out of the trees and landed in front of Aqualad. Unfortunately, Ravager attacked Aqualad from behind and knocked him out cold.

Red X blocked both assassins' attacks with his sword but had his legs pulled out from beneath him by Black Spider's web. He was then knocked out by a kick to the head from Cheshire.

"The Martian could return at any second and I'm not too keen on evening their odds." Cheshire told the group. "We end Roquette. Now!"

The four assassins headed for the lab but Ravager stopped to look back just in time to witness 'Red X' turn into a puff of smoke. _'So that's why it seemed to be so easy.'_ She thought to herself with a smirk as she left the others. Cheshire had also noticed and approved of Ravager's decision to search for Red X.

Black Spider burst into the lab through the front door and was confronted by Kid Flash who got off of the desk he was sitting on and rushed towards the assassin. Using his speed, Wally was able to dodge the webs that were shot at him.

Artemis knocked an arrow and aimed at Black Spider only to have Hook come crashing in through the sky light in the roof. Artemis turned and started firing arrows at him, only for Hook to dive out of the way.

"Don't stop working." Artemis told 'Roquette' who immediately went back to working on the virus.

Cheshire opened a window and aimed a crossbow at 'Roquette'. She fired but a bookcase flew in front of the path and blocked the arrow. The case floated there in midair. "Martian's here! It's now or never!" Cheshire told the others.

Black Spider knocked Kid Flash out of the way and fired his web and the case. He then pulled it out of the way as Cheshire jumped down from the window ledge. She landed on the computer in front of the doctor. Artemis tried to shot an arrow at Cheshire only to have a hook connected to a chain come flying at her. 'Roquette' was forced to run away but didn't get far as she was tackled from behind by Cheshire. Cheshire raised a Sai to finish the doctor only for 'Roquette's' skin to turn green and her head spin around to look directly at Cheshire with a grin.

"We're been duped!" Cheshire announced.

_**Meanwhile, at a closed café,**_

The real Dr. Roquette was being guarded by Red X and Aqualad while she used the free internet access that the café had to work. "I've almost got it." Roquette informed her bodyguards.

Ravager snuck into the café and attempted to attack Red X from behind with one of her new undamaged katana only for him to flip over and land on the ground, crouching down. "Damn, I missed again." Ravager said with a smirk as she ignored Aqualad and Dr. Roquette. "Hello, cutie, did you miss playing with me?" She asked with a sultry manner while Shark pulled out one of his swords and twirled it a few times. He made a 'bring it on' gesture with his free hand causing Ravager to lick her top lip. "I'll take that as a yes." She purred before rushing forward. She pulled out a few shuriken and threw them at X who leapt over them and did a spin in the air before bringing his sword down. Ravager leapt out of the way and watched as his downward swing connected with the ground, cracking the place where it connected. "Oh I didn't know you liked to play rough." She commented as she pulled out her other katana.

"What can I say? The ladies love it when I'm rough." Red X replied. He blocked both of her katana with only one of his blades. He pulled out the other and attempted to hit her on the head with its flat side but she leaned back, breaking the sword contact, placed her hands on the floor and flipped backwards. "You're pretty flexible." He remarked as their swords clashed against each other while they made eye contact with one another.

"Thank you." Ravager said with a husky tone and seductive grin. "Wanna find someplace private and test my flexibility?" The two ended their strength struggle and got into their respective fighting stances.

_**Meanwhile, in Philadelphia,**_

Robin and Wonder Girl were flying the Bio-Ship and found the Fog's next target. "The next target is a WayneTech facility." Robin said in shock. "In theory's its system's software can be use to hack the-!" he stopped when he realized what he was saying.

"To hack the what?" Wonder Girl asked.

"Doesn't matter." Robin said hastily. "What matters is that WayneTech operates a 24 hour work force. We'll never evacuate them in time."

A van pulled into the parking area outside the building. Inside the van, Dr. Ojo prepared the Fog for its mission after he had sent the S.T.A.R. Labs data to Sensei.

_**Back at the Docks,**_

Miss Martian changed back into her normal form with her black costume on as she floated into the air over the assassins. "You'll never find Doctor Roquette." She declared.

"Never is such a long time." Cheshire retorted. "Pursuing target, keep them busy." She dashed off as Hook fired his chain hook at Miss Martian.

Artemis recovered and gave chase. "Pursuing their leader, take the rest down." She told the others.

Kid Flash punched Black Spider in the face and turned towards Artemis. "You are so not the boss of me!" He shouted.

"Just do it!" Artemis yelled over her shoulder as she ran out the door. Black Spider took advantage of Kid Flash being distracted to grab him from behind.

Outside, Cheshire found where they had left Aqualad only there was no one there. "Oh, I do not like being played." She hissed as her mask's scanners activated and picked up the trail of Kaldur's footprints. She ran after the trail.

Artemis came out and saw Cheshire running away. She fired an arrow at the masked assassin only for Cheshire to turn and black the attack. "I was hoping it would be you." The black haired assassin said before running off as Artemis chased after her.

The two took to the rooftops and Artemis shot an arrow at Cheshire that embedded itself into a chimney stack. The arrow released a powerful knockout gas that sprayed directly into Cheshire's face. Cheshire coughed before passing out from the gas's affects. Artemis knocked another arrow as she got closer to the unconscious assassin, only for said assassin to spin and knock Artemis's feet out from under her. "Mask has built in filters." Cheshire informed the female archer.

Artemis tried to kick Cheshire only for it to be block but that didn't stop the blonde from continuing to throw kicks and punches that were blocked. Cheshire spun Artemis around and pinned the archery girl's arms behind her back with one hand. "Better luck next time kid." Cheshire commented before knocking Artemis out with a blow to the back of the neck

_**Inside the café,**_

Aqualad heard as someone landed on the roof while Red X and Ravager were doing their little flirting. "We have more company." He told Dr. Roquette.

"Uploading now!" She announced. "And, by the way, you said that you'd protect me!"

They both heard a metal ball rolling on the ground towards them. The ball released smoke as Aqualad pulled out his water-bearers with swords on them and Dr. Roquette stood up from her seat. The smoke cleared and no one was there. Aqualad turned around just in time to receive three shot in the chest from Cheshire who had snuck in through the air vents in the ceiling.

"I hear you're highly immune to jelly fish toxins. Let's test the limits of it, shall we?" Cheshire asked happily.

Aqualad shook his head in an attempt to shake off the effects of the poison before rushing at Cheshire but his moves were greatly slowed by the poison so Cheshire was able to quickly take him down.

Red X noticed this as Ravager asked her question. "As much as I would enjoy that I'll have to take a rain check." He replied as he made a clone that teleported away.

"There, limit tested." Cheshire commented before pulled out a Sai and turning to Dr. Roquette. "Now, doctor, I believe it is time for my appointment." She started to approach the scared scientist only for Red X's clone to appear between them.

"Sorry, but your appointment's been cancelled." The clone said before engaging Cheshire.

_**Meanwhile, in the Bio-Ship,**_

Robin was receiving the download of the virus. "It's downloading." He told Wonder Girl as the entrance to the ship opened.

Wonder Girl looked down at the parking area and saw Professor Ojo open the van door. "Don't need it!" She said as she jumped out of the ship.

"Wonder Girl!" Robin shouted in surprise.

Professor Ojo was about to release the Fog when he saw Wonder Girl coming straight at him. He altered the power of his mask's laser and fired at the young Amazon, who block the attack with her gauntlets but was still pushed off course and crashed into the pavement. This gave Professor Ojo time to release the Fog from its container.

Robin watched as the Fog made its way towards the building. "No!" He shouted before swinging after it. He chased it into the WayneTech building and ran past the security guard.

"Hey! You can't come in here!" The security guard shouted at Robin before grabbing his walkie-talkie. "Unauthorized entry!"

The security system immediately activated and started to close a steal gate in front of Robin. "WayneTech override RG-4!" Robin shouted and the security system retracted the gate allowing Robin to continue.

_**Back at the docks,**_

Megan dodged the chained hook launched by Hook only for it to be retracted back to him. She tried to take him down by using her telekinesis to throw desks at him but Hook just used his weapon to slice through them. Hook launched his hook at her but missed and it embedded itself in the ceiling. _"Kid Flash, we need to end this now!"_ Megan said telepathically.

Wally was leaping around and using his speed to dodge Black Spider's webbing. _"It's like you read my mind, beautiful."_ He replied only to be caught by Black Spider's web. This gave Wally an idea. He began spinning around in a circle with great speed. He reeled Black Spider in close and kicked him with a standing missile dropkick to the chest. The kick sent Black Spider crashing hard into one of the desks, knocking him out cold.

Hook retracted his weapon and fired at Miss Martian only to have her reflect the attack right back at him, causing his own weapon to knock him out.

"Yeah, I got mine!" Megan shouted excitedly.

"Great!" Wally said but was embarrassed as his move had resulted in him being tied up by Black Spider's web. "Uh, little help here?"

_**WayneTech, Philadelphia,**_

The Fog was quickly moving through the building, devouring everything it came across. The people inside were scrambling to evacuate the building before it could collapse on them. Robin ran into one of the labs that had a computer as a woman stared at the Fog in awe.

"What's going on? What are you doing?" She questioned Robin as he connected his wrist holographic computer USB-cable to the computer in the room.

"Please be linked to the mainframe. Please be linked to the mainframe…" He repeated as he worked frantically.

_**Back at the café,**_

Cheshire had managed to disperse Red X's clone and was closing in for the kill when Dr. Roquette glanced at the computer screen and it showed that the upload was complete. Cheshire grabbed her by the shirt and pulled her close. "So you finished the virus," the assassin commented, "thus eliminating the reason for your elimination but not the entertainment value." Cheshire tossed Roquette down. "Luckily for you my orders are clear. You live to program another day. After all doctor, the Shadows may find another use for you." The black haired assassin taunted.

_**WayneTech, Pennsylvania,**_

The Fog was busy doing its thing while Robin managed to upload the virus into WayneTech's computer systems. The virus spread quickly throughout the building and infected the nanotech infiltrators. The virus caused the nanotech infiltrators to self-destruct. Robin watched as the Fog changed from a black color to a red color as the nanotech self-destructed. "Yes!" He shouted happily. "The infiltrators have been out-filtrated!"

_**Outside the building,**_

Professor Ojo watched as the Fog was being destroyed by the virus. Wonder Girl had managed to recover and was walking towards the masked criminal. Ojo fired his eye beam at Donna, who blocked it with her left wrist gauntlet and continued to get closer. She got right up to him and grabbed the mask, causing the beam to backfire and send Ojo backwards into the van. The criminal was unconscious before he hit the ground.

_**Back in the café,**_

Even though Cheshire was done and leaving, Ravager wasn't. She managed to knock Red X away and went through for the doctor, pulling Roquette up by her collar and holding her katana to the older woman's neck. "Hello, doctor, I believe I was scheduled to be your next _appointment_." Ravager threatened. Serling gulped in fear as the katana blade touched her neck.

Red X then appeared out of nowhere behind the doctor and with one of his sword's pointing at the surprised Ravager and had his other hand around her wrist. "I believe your appointment has been _cancelled_." He said with his chin on Roquette's shoulder while his eyes formed white upside down smiles at Ravager.

Ravager frowned. "This is the third time you've surprised me tonight." She commented and then grinned. "And this is a very interesting position we're currently in, eh, cutie?" She asked as she moved a little closer to Serling who had also realized the position they were currently in and felt her face heat up as her cheeks turned red.

"Very interesting indeed but I never took you as the kinky type." Red X replied as they continued their stare down. "Now, are you going to let her go or are you going to force me to destroy you vocal cords and silence that beautiful voice of yours?"

Ravager's lips formed a frown as she thought it over. She then released Roquette, who quickly ducked in between them and went over to Aqualad, as they continued staring at each other. Ravager slowly reached out and pulled X's mask up until she could see his face and allowed him to do the same with her mask, revealing her flawless slightly tanned face and deep blue eyes. "Mmm, now I see why you wear your mask." Ravager commented as she slowly caressed his face.

"That's my line, little slayer." Shark replied as he grinned at her.

Ravager pouted. "It's such a shame that we're on opposite sides right now. Otherwise, we'd have been perfect for each other." She said as she pulled her arm out of X's grip. She then grinned again as smoke rose up around them. "Don't ever forget this face, cutie, as we will meet again." She promised before blowing him a kiss and disappearing in the smoke.

"Tch, sly little minx." X muttered to himself as he pulled down his mask. He then looked down at Ravager's mask and saw a piece of paper inside it with a number and the words 'call me' written on it. "Deathstroke's gonna kill me when she tells him about me." Red X groaned.

_**Meanwhile, outside the café,**_

While Ravager and Red X were doing their stare down, Cheshire had walked out of the building holding her left arm when four arrows landed in front of her and exploded, knocking her to the ground and her mask off. Artemis stood behind Cheshire as she pushed up off the ground with an arrow trained on the assassin. "Don't move a muscle!" She threatened with every intention of following through with her threat.

Cheshire stood up. "Wow, I am completely at your mercy." She said as she turned to Artemis revealing her tanned face and green eyes.

Artemis's eyes widened and she gasped as she recognized Cheshire's face. "You?!" She whispered in horror.

"I suppose now you bring me to justice, let your new friends interrogate me. I wonder if your position is secure enough to survive them learning everything I know about you." Cheshire taunted with a grin. Artemis narrowed her eyes.

The two stared each other down before Artemis lowered her weapon. "Didn't think so." Cheshire grinned. "So like the Cheshire cat," a smokescreen rose up as Cheshire walked backwards into it, "I'll just disappear." As the smoke cleared, Cheshire was gone.

Dr. Roquette then exited the café with a recovering Aqualad leaning on her for support. "Artemis, where's the assassin?" He asked.

"She-she got away." Artemis told him as Kid Flash arrived on the scene.

"Oh from you? Big surprise!" He said sarcastically as Miss Martian arrived with Black Spider and Hook, tied up and unconscious. "Notice, we got ours."

"Put a sock in it, Walter." Red X growled as he exited the café with Ravager's mask in hand. "Mine got away as well. So if you want to keep giving Artemis a hard time, you'll find yourself doing patrol every weekend until you learn some humility."

Wally's ego drastically deflated when he looked down and noticed Cheshire's mask. "Cool." He said as he quickly snatched it up. "Souvenir."

Aqualad walked over and looked at the mask. "Her mask? Did you see her… her face?" He asked as he pulled out the darts that were in his chest and torso.

"It was dark." Artemis informed him.

Aqualad sighed. "It is fine. Robin and Wonder Girl neutralized the Fog and Dr. Roquette is safe. Thanks in no small part to you." He said kindly as Artemis turned to face him. "Welcome to the team."

Artemis smiled at hearing this and Red X nodded in approval as Aqualad and Megan walked over to her. Kaldur and Artemis shook hands as Megan patted her on the shoulder. "I've always wanted a sister… here on Earth that is." She quickly added. "I've got twelve back on Mars but trust me, it's not the same."

Artemis gave Megan a somewhat confused look. "I wouldn't know but thanks." She said with a smile.

Wally had also walked up to Artemis and received an elbow to the side from Miss Martian when he didn't say anything. "Ow." He complained before getting the idea. "Yeah, welcome." He grumbled. Artemis held out her hand to shake but Wally wasn't going to accept it, until he received a smack upside the head from Red X, then he accepted the gesture.

_**August 9, 1:15 A.M., in Gotham City,**_

Artemis appeared in an old phone booth in a flash of light. She stepped out and took a look around. She then spun, pulled an arrow and her bow off her back and pointed it into the shadows. "Step into the light! Now!" She told the person standing there.

The figure did as he was told, revealing himself to be Red Arrow. "Nice move." He commented as he walked up to her and Artemis lowered her weapon. "It almost made me believe that you really are Green Arrow's niece. But we both know that you're not." Artemis narrowed her eyes at him. "Still, I'm sure G.A. and Bats have a reason for lying, so you're cover's safe. But I warn you," he got closer to her face, "_do not hurt my friends_." He growled threateningly before walking away.

'_I guess I should've expected that.'_ Artemis thought as her shoulders sank down.

_**Meanwhile, on Infinity Island,**_

"Report." A voice said to Sensei as he sat in a meditative position on the floor with a number of monitors on around him.

"Masters, before Ojo's capture he transmitted the STAR Labs data you required." Sensei reported calmly. "But the WayneTech Intel still eludes us."

"Once again… the young… heroes interfere." One of the Light members said. "So it is fortunate that we have an operative on the inside." Sensei smiled at this news.

_**August 9, 10:00 A.M., at the Cave,**_

Shark was seated at a computer in his workshop where he would study the different items he had recovered on the missions the team had gone on. The nearby wall had different items on it: Mister Twister's wind cannon, which Shark had completely repaired and altered so that anyone could use it as a weapon; a vial of Kobra Venom with a detailed report on the serum's effects and an antidote created by the Justice League next to it; and a small blue energy field generator was on a shelf with Sinestro's Power Ring hovering in the center of it. On one of the tables, different parts and pieces to Professor Ivo's MONQIs as well as tools that Shark had been using as he worked on the robot monkey parts covered half the table. The other half of the table had the canister used to transport/store and laptop computer that was used to control the Fog. The laptop contained a detailed blueprint and program information on the Fog. There was also a disk that Shark had gotten from Dr. Roquette containing everything about the Fog, including how it was made and how she programmed it.

Right now, however, Shark was busy working on something else completely. He was imputing all the information he had on Ravager as well as created a detailed picture of her unmasked face. "It's hard to believe that someone so lovely can be so deadly." He commented as he leaned back. "Then again, you can never judge a book by its cover." He saved the data and closed the file. Shark stood up and went about tinkering with the Fog container.

_**A little later,**_

Shark had gone into the kitchen to get some lunch and found Artemis, Megan and Donna talking to each other. "What is with you can cooking, Megan?" Artemis asked curiously.

Megan smiled happily. "I just like trying out new recipes since most of the things we have on Mars are pretty bland in comparison." She replied.

Donna giggled. "Plus she thinks that she can win Red X over with her cooking." The Amazon whispered causing Megan the blush.

Shark pretended not to hear what the three girls were talking about as he warmed up some leftover pizza. He knew full well that Megan was attracted to him and was sure that Artemis and Donna also felt something for him but he wasn't sure how to choose. Sure, he cared about all three of them but he didn't want to hurt any of their feelings by choosing one over the others.

He sat down at a table in the kitchen, facing towards the girls as he at his lunch. He pushed the thoughts of the girls out of his mind and began contemplating what he should work on next. _'The components of the MONQIs are slowly starting to make more sense to me but it'll still be a bit before I can get any of it workable.'_ He thought to himself. _'But then there's the Fog… I have no idea what use I could have for it but it might be a good idea to have it just in case, as you never know when something might come in handy.'_ Shark turned his attention back to the girls. Unbeknownst to him, his eyes had a slight blue glow to them.

Shark stopped all train of thought by what he was seeing. Artemis, Megan and Donna were all naked! It wasn't that he didn't enjoy the show, but Shark quickly looked away out of respected and rubbed his eyes. _'Holy shit, my X-Ray vision picked one hell of a time to show up!'_ He thought, being careful to guard his thoughts just to make sure Megan didn't pick up the stray thought.

He glanced up and saw that things were back to how they should be. He quickly finished eating and calmly left the kitchen. Once he was in his room, he exhaled the breath he hadn't realized he was holding. "Oh boy…" He sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. "That was way too close…" He then went into the bathroom and took a cold shower, trying to keep any inappropriate thoughts from entering him mind.

Unfortunately, that was a lot easier said than done.

**To Be Continued…**


	6. Chapter 6: A Change of Fate

_**Author's Note**__**: Sorry it has taken so long on the chapters but the muse has been sporadic at best. Here is an early Christmas present for you guys.**_

**Young Justice**

**Chapter 6: A Change of Fate**

_**July 27, 9:57 P.M., New Orleans,**_

A man in a suit was walking down the street as music was playing and people were enjoying themselves. The man had grey and white hair, wrinkled skin and blue eyes. He was holding a cane with a golden handle on it but was not using it to walk with. His name was Kent Nelson. Kent walked up to a store and stopped in front of it. The sign in the window read "Madame Xanadu" on it. Kent pulled out an antique pocket watch with a gold chain and opened it to reveal an old picture of a beautiful woman inside it.

Kent took a deep breath before he snapped the watch closed. He then entered the store and walked over to a table with a red cloth over it and a crystal ball in the center of the table.

A woman with tanned skin wearing fancy clothes that gave off the appearance of a fortuneteller. "Bonjour Monsieur, how can Madame Xanadu be of service?" The woman asked with an accent common of the area. She approached him. "Ah, there is someone who you wish to speak. Your wife, no?" She asked knowingly.

Kent tightened his grip on the watch he was holding in his left hand. "Yes, my Inza." He replied as Madame Xanadu sat down in one of the chairs.

"Then Madame will make contact, if Fate be kind." She said with a wink.

"Ah, but he so rarely is." Kent replied.

He sat down across from her but before Madame Xanadu did anything she held out her hand waiting for something. Kent knew what she wanted and handed her a roll of bills, which Madame Xanadu put inside her shirt. Xanadu closed her eyes and waited patiently.

Suddenly, the crystal ball started glowing and a mysterious wind began blowing in the shop. Madame Xanadu's eyes began glowing as her hair was blow and her eyes began to glow as she fell into the trance. The wind blew out some of the candles in the shop and the table rose into the air. "Ohhh, my love, I have missed you." Madame Xanadu said as she appeared to be in a trance.

Kent then burst out laughing. "Is that supposed to be my wife?" He asked as he tried to keep his humor under control. "Is that the best you can do?"

The wind suddenly stopped and the table slammed down on the floor. "Imbecile, you have broken the spell!" Madame Xanadu shouted angrily, trying to keep up the act. "You're wife is forever lost!"

Kent gave her a disbelieving look. "That was supposed to be _my_ wife?" He asked with a laugh. "Heck, my little spitfire would've kicked my can for throwing away good money on you."

Madame Xanadu stood up angrily. "No refunds for nonbelievers." She said.

Kent gave her a serious look. "I think we both know that you're the nonbeliever, 'Madame'." He said completely serious. He gesture over his shoulder. "A wind machine," he then lifted up the table cloth, "tire jacks under the table. It's a shame too. You have the perfect aura for the work." He then held up his watch and flicked it open. "And nothing would've pleased me more than to be reunited with my bride." He commented.

A man appeared in the shop and grabbed Kent by the shirt, causing him to let go of his cane, and lifted him into the air. "You will be reunited with her soon enough." The man said menacingly. The man had tanned skin, brown eyes, a black goatee and long black hair in a ponytail. He was wearing black pants, black gloves, brown boots, a brown belt with a golden belt buckle, a golden earring in his right ear and a white shirt that was open down the middle to reveal his chest. The man was known as Abra Kadabra, a criminal. Kadabra grinned menacingly at Nelson before the both disappeared in a flash of blue light.

Madame Xanada gasped at what she had just seen and ran into the back of her store.

Kent's cane then rose up into the air all on its own and began to glow before it too disappeared only in a golden light.

_**August 19, 7:39 P.M., at Mount Justice,**_

Shark and Kaldur were facing each other in a holographic ring, like the one Black Canary would use during her training sessions. Shark was wearing blue jeans and tennis shoes without a shirt on while Kaldur was wearing his usual uniform without his water-bearers and backpack. **"Initiate combat simulation in three… two… one…"** The computer voice announced as the two circled each other.

Shark and Kaldur charged at each other. Shark threw a right hook but Kaldur ducked under it and countered with a left jab, right hook and spin kick, which Shark was able to block. Kaldur landed after the kick and back flipped away from Shark, who didn't let up.

Artemis, Megan and Donna were watching off to the side. Artemis was wearing a white top with a brown jacket over it with the sleeves rolled up, dark blue jeans and black knee high boots with small, round black earrings and her hair pulled back into its usual ponytail. Megan was wearing a white T-shirt under a blue short-sleeved crop top sweater, blue skirt, knee-high socks with brown shoes, and a headband to keep her hair back. Donna had on a red and black short sleeved T-shirt that hugged her body with a pair of dark blue jeans and some red and white tennis shoes. She also had her hair tied up in a high ponytail with two bangs falling in front of her face.

Artemis had her hands on her hips and a grin as she watched the two boys sparring. "Kaldur's, uh, nice, don't you think?" She asked Megan, causing the Martian girl to look at her. "Handsome, commanding, you should total ask him out." She suggested. _'That way I can get Shark without worry.'_ She thought to herself.

Megan chuckled at this. "He's like a big brother to me." She replied before grinning. "But you know who would make _the cutest_ couple?" Artemis raised an eyebrow. "You and Wally." Megan said with a smile. They looked over at Wally who was wearing a white long sleeve shirt under a red short sleeved shirt, brown baggy pants and red sneakers. Wally was eating a burrito and took a huge bite out of it, making a disgusting noise.

Artemis wasn't buying it so Megan explained. "You're so full of passion and he's so full of… um?" She tried to find the right word.

"It." Artemis supplied causing all three girls to giggle.

Donna wrapped her arms around both girls' shoulders. "Instead of trying to hook each other up with someone else so you can have Shark all to yourself, we could go with my idea." She whispered into their ears.

Megan blushed as she remembered what Donna's idea was but Artemis wasn't part of the team back then. "What idea is that?" Artemis asked carefully not sure if she wanted to know.

Donna smirked mischievously. "If he's interested in all of us, instead of fighting, we could just _share_ him." The Amazon suggested with a wink. Artemis blushed at the implications as Shark and Kaldur got close, Shark slide his leg around Kaldur's foot. He tripped Kaldur over his leg and tossed the Atlantean over. This resulted in Kaldur landing on his back.

"**Failed: Aqualad…"** The computer announced as it recorded the fight's data and how he had lost.

Shark dusted off his hands. "Black Canary taught me that one." He said proudly before helping Kaldur to his feet.

A door opened in the ceiling area and Red Tornado dropped out of it. The robotic hero used his wind powers to land gently on the ground and started to walk away when Wally raced up to him. "Got a mission for us?" The speedster asked excitedly.

Tornado stopped and looked Wally. "Mission assignments are the Batman's responsibilities." He reminded the teen.

"Yeah, well, the Batman is with the Robin doing their Dynamic Duo thing in Gotham." Wally countered. "But you're heading somewhere, right?" He grinned. "Hot date or a…a mission?" Wally just didn't know when to just let things go and it really annoyed a number of people.

The others had joined Wally. "If we can be of assistance," Kaldur added, trying to make up for Wally's impatience.

Red Tornado turned around and activated the hologram computer screens. An image of Kent Nelson appeared on the screen. "This is Kent Nelson, a friend." Red Tornado stated. "He is one hundred and six years old."

"The guy doesn't look a day over ninety." Wally whispered to Artemis with a grin.

"And he has been missing for twenty-three days." Tornado continued. "Kent was a charter member of the Justice Society, the precursor to your mentors' Justice League." The image of Nelson changed to a man wearing a blue and gold uniform with a gold helmet on his head.

Aqualad immediately recognized the image. "Of course, Nelson was Earth's Sorcerer Supreme. He was Doctor Fate!"

"I've heard of him from Zatara but Doctor Fate hasn't been active for a number of years now." Shark stated.

"Pff, more like Doctor Fake, guy knows a little advanced science, Dumbledore's it up to scare the bad guys and impress the babes." Wally whispered to Artemis who was getting annoyed, only for Wally to suddenly be smacked upside the head by Donna, who had heard every word the speedster said.

"Shut it, Walter." Donna growled angrily as she did not like the disrespect Wally was showing a veteran hero.

Tornado faced the team. "Kent may just be on one of his… walkabouts but he is caretaker of the Helmet of Fate, the source of the doctor's mystic might and it is unwise to leave such power unguarded." He explained.

Megan was excited about being able to help a mystical lord and eagerly volunteered to help. Wally seeing this as an opportunity to impress Megan, pretended to also be a true believer and volunteered, much to the annoyance of Artemis, Donna and Shark, who had also heard Wally. Red Tornado pulled out a golden key and handed it to Shark. "Take this. It is the Key to the Tower of Fate." He explained.

"What are the chances that we both so admire the mystic arts?" Wally asked Megan with a flirtatious grin. The team soon headed to the Bio-Ship to head for the location of the Tower of Fate. Shark had suited up but wasn't wearing his mask and decided to leave his swords behind.

On the way, Artemis took it upon herself to question Wally's claims to believing in magic. "So, Wally, when did you first realize your honest affinity to sorcery?" She questioned.

Wally grinned, but inside he was worried. "Well, my don't mean to brag, but before I became Kid Flash, I seriously considered becoming a wizard myself." He said as he reclined in his seat and put his hands behind his head. Artemis, Donna, Aqualad and Shark rolled their eyes before looking out the front window.

_**8:22 PM, Salem, Massachusetts,**_

The Bio-Ship, in camouflage mode, soon arrived at the coordinates given to the team by Red Tornado. "We've reached the coordinates." Megan announced to the team.

"But there's nothing out there." Donna commented.

"Take us down." Shark instructed and Megan nodded as the Bio-Ship landed on the open field where the Tower was supposed to be. The team started to leave the ship when Shark sensed something mystical nearby and it wasn't the tower. "Wait!" He ordered causing everyone to stop where they were. "I sense something is out there." He cautiously disembarked from the Bio-Ship, looking around for any hidden enemies.

"Do you sense the tower?" Aqualad asked.

"No, something else is out there." Shark said as he narrowed his eyes and activated his thermo vision but didn't see anything out of the ordinary. The only thing he saw was a couple stray cats, one of which seemed to be looking in their direction. It soon ran off. "I guess it was nothing." He told the group as they disembarked. _'Something was off with that cat…'_ Shark thought as he could shake the feeling that the cat had been waiting for them.

_**Not too far away, in an abandoned theatre,**_

Shark's instincts about the cat were right as it was heading into the old theatre building where voices could be heard. "Grant us access to the tower and I will promise an end to your suffering." A voice said. "Continue to refuse and…" A blast was heard followed by an old man's cry of pain.

The cat made it's way to a boy that was sitting in one of the seats, watching what was happening on stage. He laughed as he listened to the old man's suffering as if he enjoyed it. The cat jumped up into the boy's lap, who immediately began petting the cat.

The cat's master was a scraggy boy with long, thin limbs, a thin neck and an angular face. He has black hair in a mop-top style with V-shaped bangs and devil-horns rising over the ears to points slightly above the top of his head. Along with his pointed crown, these devil horns gives him a distinctive three-pointed silhouette. He has arched eyebrows and sideburns that taper to a point. He also has long, sharp, black fingernails. He was wearing predominantly black clothes but include a white shirt with a tall, stiff collar. On top of this he wears a black skinny tie that was low on the collar, black skinny trousers and pointed shoes, as well as a distinctive jacket. The jacket resembles a standard suit jacket around the chest and shoulders, although it had long sleeves with flared, pointed cuffs, and the jacket's skirt was mid-thigh length and shaped so that it comes to a point at the front. The jacket is fastened with two short button straps around the waist.

The cat tried to tell its master something. "Quiet Tickle!" The boy shushed. "I'm watching the show!"

Up on stage were Abra Kadabra and a tied up Kent Nelson. "Enjoy it… while you can." Kent wheezed to the boy. "Soon enough… my friends will come for me." Kadabra walked around behind the old man and raised his wand that sparked some electricity before he touched Kent's back with the sparking end. The electricity went through Kent's body, causing him even more pain.

The boy stood up as Kent cried out in pain. "Encore! Encore!" He cheered and clapped happily. Tickle whined even louder this time. "What?!" The boy asked in annoyance. The cat hissed before its eyes glowed.

The images that the cat had witnessed of the Team arriving at the Tower's location appeared in the boy's head. "Oh…" The boy said as he realized that this was more important than watching the old man get tortured.

_**Back in the park,**_

The team was standing around looking for any trace of the Tower of Fate. Kid Flash was whizzing around but soon can back. "Nothing. This isn't simple camouflage." He said to the group.

"So what do you think?" Artemis asked attempting to get Wally to show that he didn't believe in magic. "Adaptive Micro Optoelectronics combined with Phase Shifting?"

"Absolutely…" Wally started to agree but the realized that Megan was standing right next to him. "Not! Clearly, mystic powers are at work here."

"You're hopeless, Wally." Donna stated as she shook her head.

Unbeknownst to the group, Abra Kadabra and the boy had arrived with a restrained Kent Nelson but were covered by a cloaking spell or field. "Hey, Abra Kadabra, aren't you using adaptive micro optoelectronics and phase shifting?" The boy asked.

"Yes, Klarion…" The fake magician admitted reluctantly. Klarion chuckled as he pet Tickle, who was in his arms.

Shark turned his head and looked over his shoulder, narrowed his eyes as he looked directly at the concealed people. _'Someone is hiding from us…'_ He thought. _'Whoever it is must be the ones who kidnapped Mr. Nelson…'_ Shark pulled the key out of his pocket and looked at it.

"A test of faith…" Aqualad suggested and Shark nodded in agreement.

"Stay back." Shark ordered as he stepped forward to the open area and held the key out. The end of the key seemed to disappear in the air. Shark turned the key and the Team heard the sound of a door being unlocked. The Tower of Fate then appeared in front of them from out of nowhere. The key was in the lock on the door and the door opened in front of the Team of young heroes. "Alright, from here on out, we stay on our toes. No goofing off." Shark told the team looking specifically at Wally. "There could be all kinds of booby-traps in there so don't do anything stupid." This was direct at Wally, who wasn't really paying attention as usual.

The team entered the tower and the door closed behind them. Donna turned as found the door had vanished. "Uh, where'd the door go?" She asked.

Suddenly an ethereal form of Kent Nelson appeared before them. "Greetings, you have entered with a key but the tower does not recognize you. Please state your purpose and intent." The specter demanded.

Wally glanced as Megan and saw this as a chance to make a good impression for her. "We are true believers, here to find Dr. Fate." He said.

Nelson's projection frowned as Shark glared angrily at Wally. "Wally, you fucking idiot!" Shark shouted as the projection vanished.

Suddenly the sound of the floor rumbling startled everyone. The floor under the team's feet crumbled and the six teenagers fell down a pit that had a pool of lava at the end. The others screamed in surprise as they descended towards the lava, but Shark remained calm and managed to grab both Artemis and Megan with his arms around their waists. He levitated in mid-air while his eyes glowed green as he called upon the magical powers he possessed. Donna quickly regained her bearings and grabbed Wally and Kaldur by their wrists but wasn't strong enough to stop their descent, only slow it.

A few large pieces of rock broke from the wall and then formed into a small platform. The platform moved under Donna, Kaldur and Wally and caught them before they got too far down. A golden circular energy disk formed under Shark, Artemis and Megan, which Shark landed on. He released Artemis and Megan.

"That was too close." Shark muttered as the rock platform floated up to met them.

_**Outside the tower,**_

Abra Kadabra pushed Kent Nelson towards the still visible Tower entrance. A golden ankh symbol appeared on the door before it disappeared, allowing them to enter the tower. Klarion grinned evilly as the trio entered the tower. They soon found themselves in a hallway.

"The tower may not appreciate trespassers." Kent warned.

Abra raised his wand and pointed it at Kent's throat. "Mute!" He orders. A collar device attached itself to Kent's throat and a red light glowing in the center. The device effectively prevented Kent from saying a word.

The two criminals had Kent walk in front of them as they walked through the tower. They came to a wall that opened up for them and led to a study with a fireplace that had a picture of Inza hanging over it.

The ethereal Kent Nelson appeared before them. "Hello, Kent. How unlike you to bring guests to the tower? Especially one with such potent mystic powers…?" The specter questioned.

Abra placed his hand on Kent's shoulder. "My friends… come to… help me…" A recording of Kent's voice played from the device around Kent's neck. The specter knew something was up and smirked before fading away. The fireplace wall opened up revealing a staircase. The trio walked through the entrance which closed behind them.

_**Back in the lava pit,**_

The team was safe for the moment thanks to Shark's quick thinking, but he was having a bit of troubling keeping them from going down as something seemed to be pulling them down towards the lava pool. "Nice one, Shark. A second later and we would've been literally cooked." Artemis said with Megan nodding in agreement and wiping some sweat from her forehead.

"Phew I am so hot." Megan stated.

"You certainly are." Wally agreed in a dreamy tone.

"Walter!" Artemis and Shark shouted at the same time glaring at the speedster.

"Hey! Inches above sizzling death, I'm entitled to speak my mind!" Wally retorted.

Kaldur wiped his forehead. "My physiology and Megan's are susceptible to extreme heat. We need to get out of here and quickly." He urged.

"Hello Megan!" The female Martian said as she realized something. "We never truly answered… the question." She then put a hand to the side of her mouth so her voice could be heard. "Red Tornado sent us to see if Mr. Nelson and the helmet were safe!" She shouted. Her answer caused a platform to close around the pool of lava.

The two floating platforms landed on the larger platform. Aqualad knelt down and touched the surface with both hands. "This platform… it should be red hot but it is cool to the touch." He pondered in fascination.

Wally immediately went to Megan's side to help her. "Don't worry Megalicious I got ya!" He flirted which only angered Shark even more than he already was.

"Alright… That's it!" Shark growled as he grabbed Wally and threw him hard into the nearby wall, shocking everyone as Shark had used more strength than necessary.

"H-Hey, what's your problem?" Kid Flash asked only the cringe in fear at the pissed off look Shark was giving him.

"What's my problem? Funny you should ask since this incident is entirely your fault, you fucking idiot!" Shark shouted. "I told you not to do anything stupid and not even ten seconds later, you nearly get us all killed!"

"Yeah Walter, that half assed stunt you pulled in your 'impress Megan at all costs game' nearly got us all barbequed." Donna said as she wasn't happy with the speedster either.

"When did this become _my_ fault?" Wally questioned not liking that he was being blamed for this.

"It became your fault when you lied to that… whatever it is and called yourself a true believer!" Artemis answered.

"Wally, you don't believe?" Megan asked as she was somewhat hurt that Wally had lied to her.

Wally remained silent for a few minutes before having enough of the dirty looks he was being given. "Fine, fine, I lied about believing in magic!" He admitted. "But magic is the real lie, a major low!"

Kaldur was running his hand on the floor and shook his head at Wally's declaration. "Wally, I studied for a year at the Conservator of Magic in Atlantis. The mystic art created the skin icons that power my water-bearers." He argued calmly.

"Dude, have you ever heard of bioelectricity?" Wally retorted. "Hey in primitive cultures fire was considered magical too! Today it's all just a bunch of tricks."

"You're pretty closed minded for a guy who can break the sound barrier in his sneakers." Artemis commented.

"That's science! I recreated Flash's laboratory experiment and here I am!" Wally explained. "Everything can be explained by science."

Kaldur had found a door ring to a trap door. "Let us test that theory." He challenged as he grabbed the ring and pulled on it.

"Wait! The back draft from the lava will roast us alive!" Wally warned only for a snowy breeze to blow into the pit.

"It's snow." Megan said with a smile.

Artemis grinned at Wally. "Do you ever get tired of being wrong?" She teased.

The team all jumped down into the opening only to land sideways in a snow covered field. Wally was the last one to jump through the portal, which closed right behind him, with Artemis looking at him. "Well?" She asked waiting for him to explain.

"Ever hear of String Theory? We're in a pocket dimension." Wally argued.

"Wrong!" Shark said before snapping his fingers. A pile of snow fell on top of Kid Flash, making Artemis, Donna and Megan giggle as he sat up with snow in his mouth while glaring at the team leader.

"You make it just too easy sometimes Walter." Donna chuckled with a grin.

Shark sensed something mystical nearly. "Hey, what's that?" Megan asked drawing everyone's attention to Kent Nelson's cane that was floating nearby.

"It looks like the cane Mr. Nelson had in the picture Red Tornado showed us." Shark said as Artemis walked over to the cane.

She grabbed it but her eyes widened due to the fact that when she tried to pull her arm back, she couldn't let go. "Hey, I can't let go!" She cried out.

Shark immediately leapt forward and grabbed the cane as he sensed an energy building up in the cane. "Brace yourself!" He warned before they were both pulled into the air and suddenly vanished in a flash of light, shocking the other Young Justice members.

Wally managed to spit the snow out of his mouth and zipped to location the now missing team members had been. "See? What did I tell you? Pocket dimension!" He shouted.

_**Meanwhile, in another part of the tower,**_

Klarion was getting bored as Abra Kadabra, Kent Nelson and he were walking through an endless labyrinth of stairs. "Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet?" Klarion asked over and over again.

Kadabra grabbed Kent by his shoulder and stopped him. "Tell us how to find the helmet!" He demanded as Klarion was getting on his nerves.

Nelson was unable to answer because of the collar on his neck, so Kadabra removed it and tossed it aside. "I can't, having too much fun." Nelson retorted with a grin.

Kadabra had enough of Nelson's defiance and zapped the old man with an electrical charge from his wand. The pain caused Nelson to collapse to the ground. "Still having fun?" The fake magician asked.

Klarion chuckled. "I am! Zap him again! Or dump him off the side and watch him splat!" He encouraged. Kadabra raised his wand and unleashed another electrical blast at Nelson, causing the old man to cry out in pain.

Teekl growled something at Klarion, which caused the witch boy to sigh. "Yes, yes, I suppose we might still need him." He reluctantly admitted but didn't immediately stop Kadabra.

_**Back in the snowy area,**_

Kaldur, Donna, Megan and Wally were searching for a way out that area of the tower. Wally was zipping all over the place, while the other three stuck together. "I don't understand Wally. It's almost like he needs to believe that the impossible can't happen." Megan said to the others.

"Wally uses his understanding of science to control what he cannot comprehend." Kaldur explained. "Acknowledging the existence of magic would be to relinquish the last vestige of that control."

Megan didn't like that answer and neither did Donna but neither could argue with the reason. "Hey I think I see a way out!" Wally shouted pointing at a stair case that showed another area of the tower.

_**Back in the staircase labyrinth,**_

In a flash of light, Shark and Artemis appeared on the floor. "That was fun." The female archer groaned before shaking the cobwebs from her head.

"Uh, Artemis." Shark said getting her attention. Artemis opened her eyes and found herself staring back at Shark's blue eyes. She looked down to find themselves in an awkward position where she was sitting on stop of Shark and her team leader was on his back. This position caused a pink tint to form on her face as she quickly jumped up.

"S-Sorry." Artemis apologized while the blush died down and offered him a hand to help him up.

"Don't fret, accidents happen." Shark assured her before he sensed that they weren't alone. "Trouble…" He muttered before turning to see Abra Kadabra, Klarion and Kent Nelson. "Abra Kadabra!" Shark shouted as Artemis pulled out a retractable crossbow.

Kent smiled. "Well would you look at that." He said.

The cane that was still attached to Artemis's hand was surrounded by a golden glow. That same glow appeared around Mr. Nelson and caused him to float in the air, towards the two young heroes, knocking Klarion and Abra over as he past them. As soon as Kent touched the cane, Artemis's hand was freed and the robes binding Mr. Nelson vanished. "Quickly in here!" Nelson said as he stood up and used the cane to create an elevator doorway.

Artemis and Shark did as they were told and entered the elevator as Klarion stood up. "No, no, no, NO! I want that Helmet! I want it! I want it! I want it!" The Witch Boy screamed in a childish matter and fired red mystic volts from his palms at the three while the door closed and deflected the blasts.

Artemis, Shark and Nelson stood quietly in the elevator as it went up several levels. Mr. Nelson decided to break the silence. "I'm Kent Nelson by the way." He introduced.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Shark." Shark said.

"I'm Artemis." Artemis stated.

"Well, Shark, Artemis, we're up against an opponent with some tremendous mystic powers." Kent warned.

"You must be talking about the kid with the cat because Abra Kadabra is a well known fraud. He uses futuristic technology to simulate magic, which the Flash proved and is probably another reason Wally doesn't believe in magic." Shark stated. "The dude's all show and no biz."

"Right you are." Kent agreed. "Abra is a charlatan but Klarion the Witch Boy, the kid with the cat, he's an actual Lord of Chaos, the ultimate enemy of a Lord of Order like Dr. Fate."

"So you're a Lord of Order?" Shark asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh no, not me. I'm just an old coat Fate used to put on." Mr. Nelson said before reaching into his pocket and pulling out his pocket watch. "Until my wife, Inza, convinced me there could be more to life." He opened the watch and looked longingly at Inza's picture. "Ah, she was a real pistol, that Inza… Anyhow, Klarion's after the helmet. If he gets is sticky little mitts on it, he'll turn the planet into his own personal playground of pandemonium." The elevator chimed at they had reached their destination.

The three stepped out to find a large golden bell handing in front of them. They walked up to the bell when a portal doorway opened and the rest of the team fell through. "Friends of yours?" Kent asked Artemis but before she could answer, Shark leapt in front of Kent with his arms forward and palms open to create a yellow barrier around them, deflecting electrical blasts. Kent's eyes widened in shock that the sight of the barrier's power. "Incredible…" He muttered. "To think that one so young could create such magic, and with such little training…"

Abra fired again as the barrier dissipated but Shark batted it away with his bare hand. "Allow me to show you some real lightning faker. Lightning Strika!" Shark shouted as he fired an arch of magical lightning, combined with the electrical powers he gained from Black Lightning, at a surprised Kadabra. It exploded on contact while Klarion leapt away with Teekl in his arms.

"Wow! Nice lightning spell! You might actually be fun to play with." Klarion said in a happy tone.

"Sorry dude, but I don't swing that way." Shark countered as Artemis helped Kent over to the bell, which the old man rang once with his cane before it began to glow. Shark quickly followed after Artemis and Kent as they vanished into the bell with Klarion also following after them. The others tried to follow as well but were blocked by Abra's lightning blasts.

_**On top of the Tower of Fate,**_

Kent, Artemis and Shark appeared on the roof of the Tower where they found the Helmet of Fate was floating in the air above them. As Artemis reached out to touch it, a red hex bolt shot towards her but Nelson pushed her out of the way and took the attack right in the chest. "Agh!" He shouted as he clutched his chest in pain.

"No!" Artemis cried.

"Mr. Nelson!" Shark shouted as he caught the man before he fell to the ground. He helped the old man stay standing.

"Zet tey ottow zetien nobnus incontarta ed eum adesem!" Nelson chanted before slamming the bottom of his now glowing cane down on the ground. The cane released a golden energy that created a bubble that surrounded the three, as well as the helmet. This blocked another hex bolt that Klarion had fired.

"NO!" Klarion shouted in rage.

Nelson turned towards Shark. "Not bad for a former Dr. Fate, uh kid?" He asked before he began to collapse. Artemis and Shark caught him before he hit the ground. "The bubble will give you just enough time… to do what you need to do…" He explained to Shark as he pointed at the helmet.

Shark was shocked by this. "You want me to put on the helmet?! But I'm just a beginner! I've been practicing spells but I've never used them in a fight before now!" He argued.

"Have faith, kid… I've seen what you're… capable of… You've got the makings… of a fine Lord… of Order…" Kent urged as he pulled out and opened his pocket watch to look at Inza's picture one last time. He then went limp in Shark's arms as he died. The locket fell out of Mr. Nelson's hand.

Klarion kept firing hex bolts at the bubble as Artemis tried to revive Kent Nelson. "I want that helmet and I want it now!" The Witch Boy shouted.

"_Artemis, Shark, we're in trouble!"_ Megan said telepathically as Kadabra was capturing each member of the team in an electrical net. _"Tell Mr. Kent that we need Dr. Fate!"_ She said before she was also captured.

Shark glared angrily at Klarion as he stood up and walked over to the Helmet of Fate. "Hey Klarion!" He shouted as he took the helmet in his hands. "You want this helmet so bad?! Then come and get it!" Shark challenged as he put on the Helmet of Fate. Instantly Shark was engulfed in a bright gold light, which then died to reveal Dr. Fate.

_**Mindscape,**_

Shark opened his eyes and found himself in a dark void surrounded by nothing. "Okay… What just happened?" He asked out loud.

"Ah, I see you managed to put the helmet on in time." A familiar voice said behind him.

Shark turned to see Mr. Kent Nelson standing behind him, looking very much alive and healthy. "But I thought you died?" He questioned.

"Yeah, but don't feel too bad. Soon as this little brouhaha is over, my spirit will ascend. I'll be with my beloved Inza again." Kent explained happily.

"That's all well and good Mr. Nelson but what's happened to me?" Shark asked. "I put on the helmet like you asked."

"Yes but your soul no longer controls your body at the moment." Kent explained. "See, we're inside the helmet. You put it on and my soul got sucked in, probably because I've spent so many years serving it's master."

"Master?" Shark questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Nabu, the real Doctor Fate. One of them Lords of Order I told you about." Kent stated. "He's the guy controlling your body right now. Wanna watch?" He gestured to a mystical screen that was showing what was going on outside.

_**Real world,**_

Nabu was in complete control of Shark's body and had a giant golden energy ankh to block Klarion's hex blasts as Artemis watched. "Give it up, Nabu! Order went out of style back in the twentieth century!" Klarion shouted.

"**This battle is pointless."** A deep voice combined with Shark's stated. **"You sought to take the helmet before it gained a host. But you are too late!"**

"Shut it ya old fart!" Klarion shouted as he stopped firing energy blasts and used his magic to cause sections of the brick ground to rise up in an arch and slam into Dr. Fate.

A golden ankh symbol appeared where the arch came together and an explosion followed soon after with Dr. Fate freeing himself. **"Brat!"** Fate shouted before firing a golden beam of energy at Klarion which struck an invisible force field that surrounded the Lord of Chaos.

"AHH!" Klarion shouted as he appeared to burst apart. He the reformed behind the Lord of Order and blasted him in the back.

_**Mindscape,**_

"AHH!" Shark shouted in pain as he felt the attack strike him. He dropped down to his knees. "What the hell was that?!"

"Well it is your body." Nelson replied as if that explained everything.

"Then how come I'm not in control?" Shark asked.

"I'm afraid it doesn't work like that." Kent stated. "And if Fate ends up losing against Klarion, you'll see Inza before I do." Shark gritted his teeth as he hated being unable to do anything.

Suddenly, Shark's body started glowing. "Now what?!" He asked before vanishing.

"That's unexpected." Nelson said as he could guess what had happened because of Shark's strong magical prowess.

_**Out in the real world,**_

Dr. Fate became surrounded by a golden energy orb and when it dissipated, Dr. Fate looked completely different. He was now wearing blue body armor under a gold duster jacket with a golden belt around his waist and gold boots on his feet. His head was covered by a full blue mask with a golden X in the center of his face. His hands had blue gloves with gold Xs on the back of them.

Klarion and Artemis were shocked by the sudden transformation. "What's going on, Nabu? Finally decided to go with a more modern look, instead of having that bell on your head?" He asked in a mocking tone.

"**Sorry to disappoint you, Witch Boy, but Nabu is no longer in control."** Shark's voice said. **"Now you've got to deal with Red X!"** He then fired a beam of energy from his right hand that blasted Klarion off his feet.

Artemis was shocked to see the power that Shark now possessed. "Shark, what's happened to you?" She asked.

"**I don't know Artemis, but I like it!"** He replied with a smirk under his mask.

Klarion jumped back up to his feet and fired a magical blast at Red X/Dr. Fate in the form of a dragon head. Shark jumped out of the way but the fiery head quickly turned around and came flying at him. He created a mystical shield that blocked the attack, but was unable to react in time when Klarion shot him in that back again. The blast caused Dr. Fate to change back into his original form.

"Can't keep it together in your old age, Nabu?" Klarion taunted as he created several red orbs in the sky and began firing them at Dr. Fate.

The Lord of Order created a golden energy shield to protect himself from the attacks.

_**Back inside the mindscape,**_

Shark had reappeared in the mindscape. "Okay, what the hell just happened?" He asked Kent who had been watching.

"If I had to take a guess, I'd say that your natural prowess with the mystic arts is so powerful that you'd not only be a perfect host for Dr. Fate but a viable replacement for Nabu as a Lord of Order." Kent answered.

"That's the last thing I need right now." Shark stated. "I've got enough problems with controlling the powers I have right now. The last thing I need is any more, at least until I get what I already have under complete control."

Kent smiled and nodded in agreement. "Yes but I'm afraid that you and Nabu may keep changing back-and-forth until one of you takes off the helmet." He stated.

"Then one of us needs to stop Klarion as soon as possible." Shark said as he went back to watch the fight.

_**Real World,**_

Nabu's shield wasn't able to hold up against Klarion's barrage of spells and shattered, knocking the Lord of Order backwards. He immediately got back up and leapt into the air to avoid a stream of fire that Klarion blew from his mouth. Klarion stopped that attack and raised his clawed hand, causing burst of red hex energy to shoot up into the air. Nabu managed to evade two of those attacks but a third hit him hard, causing control of the body and it's appearance to shift back to Red X. "You're out of practice, Nabu!" Klarion taunted. "That body may have some affinity for the mystic arts but zero control."

"**That may be, but in this form, I can use my other abilities."** Shark countered as he fired his Omega Beams at Klarion. Klarion countered with a hex blast that caused a massive explosion.

"Ha! Like that would… work?" Klarion said in confusion and the smoke cleared but Red X was nowhere in sight.

"**Oh but it did."** Shark's voice said from behind the Witch Boy. Klarion turned around just in time to be punched in the face by a vicious right hook that sent him tumbling in the air until he managed to stop in his tracks.

"Hey! What was that you brute?!" Klarion shouted in anger as he rubbed the point of contact.

Shark cracked his knuckles. **"That was my fist hitting your glass jaw."** He replied, pissing off the Chaos Lord. Klarion begins firing off blasts of hex power but none of his attacks come close to hitting the host of Nabu, who counters with his own mystical energy blasts as well as atomic energy and electricity.

"Stand still!" Klarion shouted as he was get frustrated with constantly missing.

"**Yeah right."** Shark retorted as he created a golden Chinese dragon out of energy that roared to life and descended towards a shocked Klarion who avoided being chomped down on as it hit the ground and dissipated. The witch boy glared at Shark but then spotted Artemis out of the corner of his eye and gained an evil smirk on his face. He did a gesture with his hands, making pieces of earth rise from the ground but then form into spears and aimed them at Artemis.

With a swing of his arm, Klarion sent the spears flying at the shocked female archer. **"Artemis!"** Shark shouted before he vanished in a flash of yellow and appeared in front of his teammate and used his enhanced telekinesis to stop the spears. **"Leave her out of this, Klarion!"** He shouted as he sent the spears back at their creator.

The Witch Boy took off into the air to avoid the spears and had a grin on his face, like he was enjoying himself. "Now where's the fun in that?" He cackled in glee while firing a barrage of red fire balls at the two.

Shark created a field to protect the two of them from the attacks. The Lord of Chaos stopped his attack and brought his hands together, gathering a large amount of energy in his hands. "Come on brat, surely this can't be all that you can do?" He taunted and launched an even larger fire ball at the barrier. The impact shattered the shield and sent Shark and Artemis flying and crashing into a wall.

The two young heroes shook the cobwebs from their heads but Shark was the first to start to get up, only to get zapped by volts of red electricity, causing him to cry out in pain and fall to one knee. The attack caused Shark and Nabu to shift back again so now Nabu was in control.

The Lord of Chaos raised his hands into the air and a multicolored portal formed. "Time to end this." Klarion declared. A massive bolt of red hex energy was unleashed from the portal and came down towards Dr. Fate. Dr. Fate created a golden bubble force field to protect him and Artemis.

Rainbow energy was created at the point of contact between Fate's shield and Klarion's attack. "Ooo, rainbow powers." The Witch Boy admired only to have Teekl growled at him. "I am paying attention you stupid cat!" Teekl didn't like being called a stupid cat. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm winning!"

Nabu immediately realized what was going on and his amulet began to glow before an explosion happened. He then stood surrounded by a circle of gold fire, while Artemis was completely unharmed. **"It is difficult for a Lord of Order or Chaos to maintain a presence on this physical plain."** Nabu stated calmly.

Klarion's eyes widened as he knew exactly what Nabu was talking about. He and Teekl were then surrounded by a red mystical aura that gave them a more demonic look. Large balls of fire energy appeared in each of Klarion's hands which he then threw at Dr. Fate. Fate flew into the air and began dodging as he continued talking. **"I am bound to the helmet and use a human host."** He stated before firing a blast of energy. Klarion formed a stone wall to block the attack. **"But that is not your way."**

"**You're babbling Nabu!"** Klarion shouted in his more demonic voice.

"**Am I?"** Nabu asked. Dr. Fate then unleashed another blast of mystical energy from the amulet under his neck.

Klarion responded by forming a solid energy shield in front of himself but the blast passed by him and hit Teekl who cried out and was sent sprawling across the ground.

"Teekl!" Klarion shouted in concern as he turned back to normal, no longer looking more demonic, before he glared back at Dr. Fate. "I can't believe you would assault a defenseless pussycat!"

"**We both know that creature is no mere cat, Witch Boy."** Fate countered as he narrowed his eyes at the now glowing Teekl. **"For without your familiar, you have no anchor on this reality."** Teekl struggled to get up as Klarion seemed to fade in and out of existence.

"Bully! Killjoy! GEEZER!" Klarion shouted angrily. Dr. Fate replied by firing a beam of energy from both hands at Klarion. Klarion knew he couldn't survive that in his weaken state. "Holy Carp!" He gulped as a blood red portal appeared behind him, which he jumped back into. The portal closed just before Fate's energy beam reached it. The portal open over Teekl and Klarion dropped down, picking up his cat. "We're out of here!" Klarion shouted in panic before he and Teekl turned into black fog with a red outline and disappeared.

Dr. Fate stood staring at the sky with his cape blowing in the wind. Artemis stood up. "You did it, Shark!" She shouted happily but he didn't respond at all to her voice. "Shark? Dr. Fate? Nabu?" She tried to get his attention as she walked closer but he didn't move a muscle.

_**Inside the tower,**_

Abra Kadabra had captured the rest of the team, save for Kid Flash who was used to Kadabra's tricks and kept moving to avoid the attacks. Suddenly, a golden ankh appeared behind Kadabra and caused his clothes to vanish, leaving him with only his underpants and gold chain necklace on, stunning the fake magician. This was the opening Kid Flash needed to zip in and take Kadabra's wand from him. The others were freed from their electrical binding. Donna stood in front of Abra. "Show's over." She said before punching Abra in the face, knocking him to the ground and out cold.

Wally held Kadabra's wand in his hand. "Souvenir!" He said happily.

_**Back on the roof,**_

Artemis was waving her hand in front of Dr. Fate's face, trying to get his attention but he didn't even blink. "Something's wrong." She said with worry in her voice.

_**Inside the mindscape,**_

"Alright! That takes care of those two." Shark said happily but soon became worried as Nabu was just standing there and not taking off the helmet. "Uh, the fight's over, right? So why isn't Nabu taking off the helmet?" He asked Kent.

"**Because the Earth needs Dr. Fate."** Nabu's voice said as an image of the helmet appeared in the mindscape. **"I will not release this body."**

"You can't do that!" Shark shouted as he got ready for a fight.

"Actually he can but he shouldn't." Kent stated calmly. "Nabu, this is not the right candidate, at least not yet. The boy has potential but that potential cannot be reached if you take over his body. Perhaps at a later date, he could become your new host or even your replacement."

"**True, but I do not appreciate being permanently hidden away, useless, isolated, for decades at a time."** Nabu stated. **"Chaos must not be allowed the reign!"**

"That will not happen again. The boy will take the helmet and make sure you're put to good use." Kent stated.

"Yeah, I have no problem with that. It'd be nice to have someone like Doctor Fate waiting in the wing should my teammates and I get into too much trouble. Besides, I'm sure Zatara wouldn't mind occasionally wearing the helmet." Shark added getting a nod from Mr. Nelson.

"And in the mean time, I'll stick around and keep you company." Kent offered.

"Wait! What happened to you ascending and being with Inza?" Shark asked in concern.

"Heh, don't sweat it, kid. I'll spend a few millennia here, and then see Inza." Kent said happily. "That's the great thing about eternity, it's eternal."

"**The bargain is acceptable but, if the boy is to reach his potential, he'll need this."** Nabu said as his eyes glowed and an ancient tome appeared in front of Shark. **"This tome is connected to my vast knowledge and wisdom. Use it to help gain a better understanding on magic. If you are to one day be my replacement as a Lord of Order, you will need that to guide you on your way."**

Shark accepted the gift. "I appreciate the gift but how do you know I'm meant to become a Lord of Order?" He asked.

"**I don't."** Nabu admitted. **"But you are the most qualified of any candidate I have ever encountered, so I am hoping that you'll be able to replace me so that I can finally move on from this existence."**

"Some free advice before you go." Kent said to Shark. "Find your own little spitfires, ones who won't let you get away with nothing." Shark looked at his with a raised eyebrow. "Yes, I'm talking about more than one female. Even though it's frowned upon by the public, I knew a few heroes what had more than one girlfriend or wife at any given time. Someone as powerful as you will need them to keep you grounded and on the right path. For example, girls like that-" Kent was cut off as the area became completely white and Shark was freed from the mindscape.

_**Real world,**_

Shark removed the Helmet of Nabu and returned to his normal clothes. He found Artemis looking at him with concern written on her face. "Are you alright?!" She asked urgently.

"Yeah I'm fine, Artemis. I just had to talk to Nabu and Mr. Nelson about a few things before I took off the helmet." Shark explained as the tome Nabu had given him appeared in the real world. He took the tome and looked over at Kent's corpse. He set down the book and helmet before he put Kent's locket into his hand and closed the hand around it.

Artemis picked up the tome and helmet for Shark so he could pick up Kent's body. "Make sure you don't lose those." Shark told Artemis. "I have a promise to keep that involves both of those items." The female archer nodded in understanding as the two made their way back into the tower where the others were waiting.

"Oh no…" Donna said in horror when she saw Shark carrying Kent's dead body. No one said as they left the Tower of Fate, which Aqualad resealed by locking the door behind them and taking the key from it.

_**Mount Justice, August 20, 3:48 A.M.,**_

It was raining outside as Shark was in his room and placed the Helmet of Nabu on a shelf next to other items he had acquired from the team's previous missions. Shark sighed sadly as he felt the mission was a failure for not being able to keep Kent Nelson from dying but he wasn't about to dwell on it too much as he knew Kent was much happier where he was now. Shark had set the tome from Nabu down on the study table to look at later. Right now he wanted to get something to eat before going to bed.

He walked through the hallway and found Artemis leaning on the to a storage area where Wally kept his souvenirs. "So how do you explain what happened to Shark when he put on the helmet?" She asked the magic skeptic as Shark approached.

Shark wanted to hear this and saw that Wally had his own souvenir shelf. On it were the robotic eye from the android Brom Stikk, a hood and mask from a Kobra Cultist, a damaged M.O.N.Q.I. head, the mask of the assassin Cheshire, and now the wand of Abra Kadabra. Wally looked at Artemis. "Energy from the thing rewrote his brain's beta waves. He was bio-scripted into become Dr. Fate for a few minutes." Wally said matter-of-factly.

"Wait, you're still claiming there's no such thing as magic even after everything we just went through?" Artemis asked. "If that were true then why is Shark keeping the Helmet and tome?"

Wally looked at his souvenir shelf. "Duh, souvenirs!" He replied with a grin.

"Geek!" She said before walking away with Shark shaking his head.

Shark remembered what Kent said about needing to find his own spitfires to help keep him on the right track but he was worried about how the others would react to him having more than one girlfriend, so for now, he was just going to wait and see what happens.

**To Be Continued…**


End file.
